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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 14, 2021 / Notices
incidental take of small numbers of a
species or stock:
• The take of marine mammal stocks
authorized for take comprises less than
10 percent of any stock abundance (with
the exception of harbor seals); and
• Many of the takes would be repeats
of the same animal and it is likely that
a number of individual animals could
be taken 10 or more times.
Based on the analysis contained
herein of the proposed activity
(including the proposed mitigation and
monitoring measures) and the
anticipated take of marine mammals,
NMFS finds that small numbers of
marine mammals will be taken relative
to the population size of the affected
species or stocks.
Unmitigable Adverse Impact Analysis
and Determination
There are no relevant subsistence uses
of the affected marine mammal stocks or
species implicated by this action.
Therefore, NMFS has determined that
the total taking of affected species or
stocks would not have an unmitigable
adverse impact on the availability of
such species or stocks for taking for
subsistence purposes.

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National Environmental Policy Act
To comply with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and
NOAA Administrative Order (NAO)
216–6A, NMFS must review our
proposed action (i.e., the issuance of an
IHA) with respect to potential impacts
on the human environment.
This action is consistent with
categories of activities identified in
Categorical Exclusion B4 (IHAs with no
anticipated serious injury or mortality)
of the Companion Manual for NOAA
Administrative Order 216–6A, which do
not individually or cumulatively have
the potential for significant impacts on
the quality of the human environment
and for which we have not identified
any extraordinary circumstances that
would preclude this categorical
exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS has
determined that the issuance of the
proposed IHA qualifies to be
categorically excluded from further
NEPA review.
Endangered Species Act
Section 7(a)(2) of the ESA (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal
agency insure that any action it
authorizes, funds, or carries out is not
likely to jeopardize the continued
existence of any endangered or
threatened species or result in the
destruction or adverse modification of
designated critical habitat. To ensure

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ESA compliance for the issuance of
IHAs, NMFS consults internally
whenever we propose to authorize take
for endangered or threatened species.
No incidental take of ESA-listed
species is authorized or expected to
result from this activity. Therefore,
NMFS has determined that formal
consultation under section 7 of the ESA
is not required for this action.
Authorization
NMFS has issued an IHA to MEDOT
for the potential harassment of small
numbers of seven marine mammal
species incidental to the Falls Bridge
Replacement Project in Blue Hill,
Maine, provided the previously
mentioned mitigation, monitoring and
reporting requirements are followed.
Dated: December 9, 2021.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–27038 Filed 12–13–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Pacific Islands Logbook
Family of Forms
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection,
request for comment.
AGENCY:

The Department of
Commerce, in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), invites the general public and
other Federal agencies to comment on
proposed and continuing information
collections, which helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. The purpose of this
notice is to allow for 60 days of public
comment preceding submission of the
collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration,
comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received
on or before February 14, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments to
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer,
at adrienne.thomas@noaa.gov. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0648–
SUMMARY:

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0214 in the subject line of your
comments. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection
activities should be directed to Walter
Ikehara, Fishery Information Specialist,
NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office,
walter.ikehara@noaa.gov or (808) 725–
5175.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract
This request is for revision of a
currently approved information
collection. The revision will merge the
logbook and transshipment log from the
currently approved collection 0648–
0462 Pacific Islands Coral Reef
Ecosystems Logbook and Reporting and
the logbook from the currently approved
collection 0648–0577 Non-commercial
Permit and Reporting Requirements in
the Main Hawaiian Islands Bottomfish
Fishery into the 0648–0214 information
collection that includes logbook and
reporting from other Federally-managed
fisheries in the Pacific Islands Region
(PIR). After this revision is approved,
0648–0462 and 0648–0577 will be
discontinued.
Vessel operators or owners in
Federally-managed fisheries in the PIR
are required to provide certain
information about their fishing
activities, catch, and interactions with
protected species by submitting reports
to NMFS, per 50 CFR part 665.14. These
data are needed to determine the
condition of fish stocks and whether
current management measures are
having the intended effects, to evaluate
the benefits and costs of changes in
management measures, and to monitor
and respond to accidental takes of
endangered and threatened species,
including seabirds, sea turtles, and
marine mammals.
The reports are submitted using paper
logbooks or electronic logbooks
(computer tablets or other devices) to
the NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries
Science Center. The Hawaii pelagic
longline fishery and large vessels (50 ft
or longer) in the American Samoa
pelagic longline fishery will submit
reports using electronic logbooks,
although paper logbooks will be used if
there are equipment or transmission
failures. Electronic logbooks collect the
same information as paper logbooks. All
other PIR fisheries use only paper
logbooks.
Longline vessel operators are also
required to submit pre-trip notifications,
including information on trip type,

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 14, 2021 / Notices

departure time, and transit through a
protected species zone per 50 CFR
665.803. Other fisheries are required to
submit notifications of trip return,
unloading, or sales reports per
regulations in multiple Subparts of 50
CFR 665.

identifying information—may be made
publicly available at any time. While
you may ask us in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.

II. Method of Collection

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.

Respondents will report their catch
using paper logbooks or electronic
logbooks. Methods of submittal include
submission by mail or facsimile for
paper logbooks, and via the vessel
monitoring system or online for
electronic logbook data. Notifications
may be made by phone or email.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648–0214.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular (Revision of
a currently approved collection of
information).
Affected Public: Individuals or
households, and small businesses.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
667.
Estimated Time per Response: From 5
to 35 minutes per report or notification,
depending on type; average 16 minutes
per response.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 6,926.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $663.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: 50 CFR 665.

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IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to
permit the Department to: (a) Evaluate
whether the proposed information
collection is necessary for the proper
functions of the Department, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) Evaluate the
accuracy of our estimate of the time and
cost burden for this proposed collection,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c)
Evaluate ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (d) Minimize the
reporting burden on those who are to
respond, including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this information
collection request. Before including
your address, phone number, email
address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you
should be aware that your entire
comment—including your personal

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[FR Doc. 2021–26950 Filed 12–13–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

(e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted
voluntarily by the sender will be
publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive or protected
information. NMFS will accept
anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in
the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Justin Kavanaugh, West Coast Region,
NMFS, (206) 526–4140,
justin.kavanaugh@noaa.gov.
This
action is consistent with Pacific Coast
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan
and the regulations implementing the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act at 50
CFR 600.745, which state that EFPs may
be used to authorize fishing activities
that would otherwise be prohibited.
On January 2, 2015 (80 FR 30), NMFS
announced notice of receipt of four EFP
applications to test electronic
monitoring (EM) in lieu of human
observers. NMFS approved the EFPs in
2015 and renewed them annually in
subsequent years through 2021, in order
to further test the feasibility and costeffectiveness of the EM EFP program.
On June 28, 2019 (84 FR 31146), at the
recommendation of the Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council), NMFS
published a final rule that authorized
the use of EM in place of human
observers to meet requirements for 100percent at-sea monitoring for catcher
vessels in the groundfish trawl catch
share fishery (Trawl Rationalization
Program). EM video systems are used to
record catch and discards by the vessel
crew while at sea. Vessel operators are
responsible for recording catch and
discards in a logbook, which is then
used to debit individual fishing quota
(IFQ) accounts and cooperative
allocations. Recently, the Council
recommended, and NMFS
implemented, a delay to the start of the
regulatory program (86 FR 55525;
October 6, 2021). The Council
recommended the renewal of the EM
EFPs during this delay to provide more
time for industry and the Pacific States
Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC)
to test a model for industry to fund
PSMFC for review of video from their
fishing trips and to further evaluate the
costs of the regulatory program. PSMFC
has been reviewing video data from the
experimental EM EFP program, funded
by NMFS, since 2015.
NMFS received applications to renew
the EM EFPs for 2022 and 2023. A
summary of each EFP application is
provided below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XB577]

Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery;
Exempted Fishing Permit Applications
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
AGENCY:

The Regional Administrator,
West Coast Region, NMFS, has made a
preliminary determination that
applications received from Exempted
Fishing Permit (EFP) sponsors to renew
the Electronic Monitoring EFP program
warrant further consideration. NMFS
requests public comment on the
applications.
DATES: Comments must be received by
December 29, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–2021–0115, by the following
method:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA–
NMFS–2021–0115 in the Search box.
Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete
the required fields, and enter or attach
your comments. The EFP applications
will be available under Supporting and
Related Materials through the same link.
• Instructions: Comments must be
submitted by the above method to
ensure that the comments are received,
documented, and considered by NMFS.
Comments sent by any other method or
received after the end of the comment
period, may not be considered. All
comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be
posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change.
All personal identifying information
SUMMARY:

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