This information collection revision adds mandatory catch reporting for the Atlantic bluefin tuna hand gear fishery to the information collection for mandatory catch reporting in the recreational fisheries for Atlantic bluefin tuna, Atlantic swordfish, Atlantic blue marlin, Atlantic white marlin, and Atlantic sailfish. Fishermen harvesting these species must report through a toll-free telephone system or an Internet site or through recreational landing card programs administered by some states. Catch monitoring and collection of catch and effort statistics in these fisheries are required under the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The information collected through this program is essential for the United States to meet its reporting obligations to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and to ensure that the harvest of these species remains within ICCAT required quotas and landings limits.
This request adds the North Carolina shark catch card. Burden will be adjusted as part of the BC09 revision resubmission.,
Program changes:
This revision requests an increase in the number of respondents and burden hours because of the additional reporting requirements in Amendment 7. Added responses and burden: 7,285 and 607.
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.