The Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for
the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico was amended by
Amendment 18A to include a requirement that owners of vessels with
valid permits install a NMFS-approved vessel monitoring systems
(VMS) on their vessels. VMS units automatically send periodic
reports on the position of the vessel. National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) uses the reports to monitor the vessel's location
and activities for enforcement purposes. The National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) requests moving VMS requirements for rock
shrimp fishing vessels in the South Atlantic under OMB Control No.
0648-0205, into OMB Control No. 0648-0544.
PL:
Pub.L. 194 - 265 303 Name of Law: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Management and Conservation Act
15. Explain the reasons for any
program changes or adjustments. PROGRAM CHANGE As noted in the
Introduction, NMFS requests moving VMS requirements for rock shrimp
fishing vessels in the South Atlantic under OMB Control No.
0648-0205, into OMB Control No. 0648-0544. This requested program
change adds 67 vessels with Federal permits in the South Atlantic
rock shrimp fishery to this collection. The currently approved
burden and cost from OMB Control No. 0648-0205 added was 336 hours
and $95,088. However, these could not be directly added to the
current burden for OMB Control No. 0648-0544 due to adjustments in
the number of vessels, and burden hours and costs. ADJUSTMENTS In
addition, burden hours and costs were revised from feedback
provided by fishermen and other related businesses. The number of
Gulf reef fish vessels decreased from 905 to 860. Net changes
(program changes and adjustments) are a decrease in responses of
3,010, and increased hours of 174. A number of factors contribute
to the adjustment, including the number of affected vessels
increasing from 905 to 927, because there are more vessels that
have permits for the Gulf reef fish and South Atlantic rock shrimp
fisheries and require onboard VMS. The number of power-down
exemption requests for Gulf reef fish fishermen has decreased by 6,
from 264 to 258. The response time estimate for these requests has
decreased the annual burden hours from 25 to 22. The estimated
annual number of fishing reports decreased by 3,910, from 11,550 to
7,640. Due to the increase of 23 VMS units, and revised annual
maintenance hours from 4 to 5, annual maintenance burden hours
increased by 69. Also, maintenance had not previously been
considered a response, although the hours had been counted. Due to
an increase in maximum annual maintenance costs per unit from $250
to $500, total maintenance and operation costs increased by
$231,750. Finally, estimates for postage costs for the power down
exemption requests and activation checklist are revised. Most
fishermen are likely to submit forms electronically. However, if
all respondents submitted forms by mail, the annual estimate
increases from $200 to $205 annually. Annual costs increased by
$530,221.
$200,500
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Adam Bailey 808
944-2248
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.