Justification - SWFSC Sea Turtle Sightings Survey

Project Title: SWFSC Sea Turtle Sightings Survey

Program Office Sponsoring or Conducting this CSC Project: NMFS/SWFSC/ Marine Turtle Ecology & Assessment Program

Authority for this CSC Project: ESA and CCSA

Purpose of this CSC Project: This collection will provide sightings information, which will assist in monitoring the distribution and timing of sea turtle occurrence along the U.S. West Coast in support of the NMFS mission to conserve and protect threatened and endangered sea turtle populations.

Type(s) of Information Collected and From Whom It Is Collected: The data collected includes: date of the sighting, time of the sighting, sea turtle species (if known), behavior, estimated size, geographic location, photos (if taken), and the public respondent’s email address (used to ask follow-up questions if necessary). These data are provided by individuals who opportunistically encounter sea turtles while participating in work or recreational activities in the marine environment.

Use of the Information: NMFS will use this information to monitor the distribution and timing of sea turtle occurrence along the U.S. West Coast.

Method(s) of Information Collection: Mail, email and electronically via an app

Affected Public: Individuals or households

Estimated Average Annual Number of Participants: 132

Estimated Average Annual Number of Responses per Participant: 1

Estimated Average Minutes per Response: 5

Estimated Average Annual Burden Hours: 11

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Participants in this CSC Project: $0

Estimated Average Annual Costs to the Federal Government: $5,442

Estimated Average Annual Number of Federal Government Employees (FTEs): 0.03

Recruitment and Retention Methods for Voluntary Participants (SSA item 1): There is no minimum number of participants that constitutes ‘a sufficient number of voluntary participants’. Instead, we would be thankful to have even just one response. This project is advertised on the NOAA SWFSC website, and has been disseminated via word of mouth during public outreach efforts. With each sighting submitted, someone from the SWFSC marine turtle research team responds to say thank you and provide a sentence or two of biological context. See example response email below:

Sample email to person submitting sighting record:

Hi ____,

Thank you very much for sending in your sea turtle sighting and the lat/lon coordinates! Most likely this was a green turtle (Chelonia mydas), a species that has been climbing in numbers the last several years here in California. Your information is helpful for us to learn more about where and when green turtles are found in our waters, and this sighting will be added to our community sightings database. Much appreciated!

Kindly,

Gifts or Payments (SSA Item 9): We do not plan to provide a gift or payment to the voluntary participants.

Annual and Multi-Year Schedules (SSA Item 16): The sea turtle sighting information for this project submitted from the public on a rolling basis. There are no start or stop dates, nor are there specific milestone dates for reports or publications. However, we do expect to use these data for publications, although the dates for such projects are not yet determined.

Display OMB Control No. and Expiration Date (SSA Item 17): This information will be provided in the acknowledgement email when individuals submit sea turtle sightings as part of this CSC project.

Statistical Methods: This CSC project will not employ statistical methods on human respondents.

Approval for Pretesting: This CSC project will not require additional pretesting with more than nine members of the public.

Supplemental Documents: The supplemental document for this CSC project provides screenshots for West Coast sea turtle sightings submission app on the NOAA SWFSC website. It is also accessible at: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/ddb6e7a3f2f94d85b7391e4d537ca57b?portalUrl=https://maps.fisheries.noaa.gov/portal

CERTIFICATION: I certify the following are true.

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The collection will not include highly influential scientific information, ,which is information NOAA or OMB determines: (i) could have a potential impact of more than $500 million in any year, or (ii) is novel, controversial, or precedent setting or has significant interagency interest.

5. The collection complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

6. The collection will provide qualitative and quantitative data that help inform scientific research and monitoring, validate models or tools, support STEM learning, and enhance the quantity and quality of data collected to support NOAA’s mission.

Name:

Jeffrey Seminoff

Leader, Marine Turtle Ecology & Assessment Program

NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center

La Jolla, California 92037

Email: Jeffrey.Seminoff@noaa.gov