Northwest Region Federal Fisheries Permits

Forms and Documents

Document Name	Status
Limited Entry Permit Renewal Form and Instruction	Unchanged
Directed Open Access Groundfish Permits Form and Instruction	New
Pacific Halibut Permits Form and Instruction	Unchanged
Sablefish Permit Hold Count Exemption Identification of Ownership Interest Form and Instruction	Unchanged
Identification of Ownership Interest for Sablefish Endorsed LEP - accompanying either LEP renewal or transfer Form and Instruction	Modified
Limited Entry Permit Transfer Form and Instruction	Unchanged
0648-0203 Supporting Statement A.docx Supporting Statement A	2024-10-10
Section 515 of Public Law 106-554.pdf Supplementary Document	2024-10-10
50 CFR 660.25 Subpart C.pdf Supplementary Document	2024-10-10
50 CFR 660.150 (up to date as of 10-08-2024).pdf Supplementary Document	2024-10-10
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Mgmt Plan.pdf Supplementary Document	2024-10-10
50 CFR Part 660 Subpart G.pdf Supplementary Document	2024-10-10
Endangered Species Act (ESA).pdf Supplementary Document	2024-10-10
Marine Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.; MMPA).pdf Supplementary Document	2024-10-10
50 CFR 600.745 (b)(2).pdf Supplementary Document	2024-10-10
50 CFR Part 300 Subpart E.pdf Supplementary Document	2024-10-10
IPHC 1979 Pacific Halibut Convention.pdf Supplementary Document	2024-10-10
Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982, 16 U.S.C. 773c.pdf Supplementary Document	2024-10-10
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act - 2007 Blue Book.pdf Supplementary Document	2024-10-10

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Document Title	Status
43571	Limited Entry Permit Renewal Form and Instruction	Unchanged
271540	Directed Open Access Groundfish Permits Form and Instruction	New
254451	Pacific Halibut Permits Form and Instruction	Unchanged
238716	EFP Trip Notifications	Unchanged
237352	Exempted Educational Activity Authorization (EEAA) – including application and reports	Unchanged
237351	Letters of Acknowledgement (LOA)	Unchanged
237349	Sablefish Permit Hold Count Exemption Identification of Ownership Interest Form and Instruction	Unchanged
190626	EFP Summaries	Unchanged
190625	EFP Data Reports	Unchanged
190623	EFP Harvest Plan	Unchanged
190621	EFP - Application	Modified
190620	Identification of Ownership Interest for Sablefish Endorsed LEP - accompanying either LEP renewal or transfer Form and Instruction	Modified
190619	Limited Entry Permit Transfer Form and Instruction	Unchanged

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 0648-0203	ICR Reference No: 202410-0648-007
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202212-0648-001
Agency/Subagency: DOC/NOAA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Northwest Region Federal Fisheries Permits
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 10/10/2024

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	12/31/2025
Responses	2,603	2,203
Time Burden (Hours)	2,086	1,953
Cost Burden (Dollars)	118,424	78,424

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Abstract: This request is for a revision and extension of a current information collection. The revision, pursuant to final rule 0648-BN08, will add a new permit application for directed groundfish open access fishing; no other revisions are requested. This collection of information is required by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), West Coast Region – Seattle (WCR-SEATTLE). This supporting statement addresses data collections authorized by the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), developed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC or Council) under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, U.S.C. 1801 et seq. (Magnuson-Stevens Act or MSA). The FMP governs the groundfish fishery off Washington, Oregon, and California (WOC). Section 303(b)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act specifically recognized the need for permit issuance. Almost every international, federal, state, and local fishery management authority recognizes the value of and uses permits as an integral part of their management systems. Identification of the participants, their gear types, descriptions of their vessels, and expected activity levels are needed to measure the consequences of management controls, and is an effective tool in the enforcement of other fishery regulations. Experience has shown that fines for violations of specific fishery regulations are not as effective as the threat of a permit revocation that would exclude the vessel from the fishery altogether. Management of and regulations for Pacific halibut in the Pacific are developed on the international, Federal, and state levels by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), the Council, the NMFS West Coast Region, and the states of Washington, Oregon, and California. The IPHC and NMFS manage fishing for Pacific halibut through regulations established under authority of the Convention between the United States Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea (Convention), the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982, 16 U.S.C. 773c (Halibut Act), and Section 303(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Regulations for the guided sport fishery for Pacific halibut (recreational charter halibut fishery) on the West Coast are determined annually by the Council and the IPHC. NMFS publishes these regulations each year as part of the IPHC annual management measures. Regulations for the Pacific halibut fisheries are at 50 CFR 300 subpart E. Responses to the items in the supporting statement are broken out by the various type of permit function: 1) application and reporting requirements for an exempted (experimental) fishing permits (EFPs) including Letters of Acknowledgement (LOAs) for EFPs and Exempted Educational Activity Authorizations (EEAAs); 2) transfer and renewal of Pacific Coast Groundfish limited entry permits (LEPs), including other information collections necessary for the sablefish permit stacking program; (3) application and renewal of a permit for Pacific halibut commercial and recreational charter halibut fisheries in IPHC Regulatory Area 2A off of WOC; (4) application and renewal of a permit for the directed groundfish open access fishery off of WOC. For each section of the information collection, we have presented the total number of burden hours and cost burden. Currently, there are 395 LEPs, of which 164 permits have a sablefish endorsement. The number of EFPs varies from year to year depending upon the number of applications submitted to and approved by PFMC and NMFS. The number of Pacific halibut permits is 550 permits each year. The number of directed open access groundfish (DOAG) fishery permits per year is 400.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 16 USC 1801 et seq Name of Law: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
   US Code: 16 USC 773c Name of Law: Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
0648-BN08	Proposed rulemaking	89 FR 70406	08/29/2024

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Federal Register Notices & Comments

Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 13

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Directed Open Access Groundfish Permits	N/A	Directed Open Access Groundfish Permit
EFP - Application
EFP Data Reports
EFP Harvest Plan
EFP Summaries
EFP Trip Notifications
Exempted Educational Activity Authorization (EEAA) – including application and reports
Identification of Ownership Interest for Sablefish Endorsed LEP - accompanying either LEP renewal or transfer	NA	Identification of Ownership Interest Sablefish Endorsed Pacific Coast Groundfish LEP
Letters of Acknowledgement (LOA)
Limited Entry Permit Renewal	NA, NA, NA	Permit Renewal Form Pacific Coast Groundfish LEP ,   Mothership/Catcher Vessel Endorsed Permit Renewal Form Pacific Coast Groundfish LEP ,   Catcher Processor Endorsed Permit Renewal Form Pacific Coast Groundfish LEP
Limited Entry Permit Transfer	NA	Change of Vessel Registration and Permit Owner Application Pacific Coast Grounfish LEP
Pacific Halibut Permits	NA	Pacific Halibut Permit Application
Sablefish Permit Hold Count Exemption Identification of Ownership Interest	NA	Sablefish Permit Hold Count Exemption Identification of Ownership Interest Form Pacific Coast Groundfish LEP

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	2,603	2,203	0	400	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	2,086	1,953	0	133	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	118,424	78,424	0	40,000	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Changing Regulations

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: Pursuant to final rule 0648-BN08 a revision was made to include the Directed Open Access Groundfish (DOAG) Permit. The new addition increased number of responses, and both time/cost burden. The permit application form and instructions have been condensed as much as possible to alleviate public burden while still obtaining the information needed to administer the program.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $91,750

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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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:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(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;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

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.

Certification Date: 10/10/2024

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