Regulations at 50 CFR 648.84(a),(b),
and (d), § 648.123(b)(3), § 648.144(b)(1), §648.264(a)(5), and §
697.21(a) and (b) require that Federal fishing permit holders using
specified fishing gear mark that gear with specified information
for the purposes of identification (e.g., official vessel number,
permit number, or other methods identified in the regulations). The
regulations also specify how the gear is to be marked for the
purposes of visibility (e.g., buoys, radar reflectors, or other
methods identified in the regulations). The display of the
identifying characters on fishing gear aids in fishery law
enforcement. The marking of gear for visibility increases safety at
sea.
PL:
Pub.L. 94 - 265 303 Name of Law: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation Act as Amended in 2006
Changes reflect the most
current information regarding the number of relevant vessels and
gear estimated for the next three years. The total burden hours
were reduced as a result of an updated analysis which included the
average number of entities in each gear marking category from
2013-2015. The number of participants in each gear marking program
varied by fishery. Overall, there was a reduction in the number of
participants across all fishery groups (both by fishery and gear
type) except for the deep sea red crab fishery, which remained the
same. This declining participation could be caused by a number of
reasons, including but not limited to: the general trend of the
consolidation of fisheries overall, reductions in fishing quotas,
industry downsizing, resource availability, and the general state
of the economy. There were no changes to the regulations or gear
marking requirements since the last collection renewal, so all
changes in the burden are a result of changes in the number of
participating entities. A description of all changes to the annual
burden estimates associated with this collection of information is
shown in Table 2. Table 2. Reasons for Changes to Annual Burden
Estimates Number of Respondents Number of Transactions Time Burden
on Respondents (hours) Cost Burden on Respondents ($) Cost Burden
on Federal Government ($) Previous Collection 6,116 1,269,340
21,156 61,160.00 N/A Program Change 0 0 0 0 N/A Adjustment -777
-153,830 -2,564 -7,770.00 N/A Current Collection 5,339 1,115,510
18,592 53,390.00 N/A
$0
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Cynthia Hanson 978
281-9180
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.