Amendment 9 to the Multispecies Fishery Management Plan for the Northeast Region of the U.S. proposes to add halibut to the multispecies management unit. A commerical vessel would be required to have an open access permit in order to retain one halibut 36 or more inches long. Since vessels with permits must submit Vessel Trip Reports (essentially a logbook), the halibut fisherman acquiring permits will now be subject to that requirement. In addition, halibut fishermen will be asked to voluntarily indicate in the Vessel Trip Report the size of any halibut caught and the time of day of the catch, regardless of...
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).
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(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
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