0648-0016 Supporting Statement A

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

U.S. Department of Commerce

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

Southeast Region Logbook Family of Forms

OMB Control Number 0648-0016

Abstract

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is seeking to extend the information collections currently approved under OMB Control No. 0648-0016. The NMFS Southeast Region manages commercial and recreational fisheries in Federal waters of the Gulf of America (Gulf), South Atlantic, and Caribbean under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., through regulations implemented at 50 CFR part 622. Participants in most of these federally managed fisheries are required to keep and submit logbooks of their fishing effort and catch from their fishing trips. Some fishermen on these vessels also provide information on the species and quantities of fish, shellfish, marine turtles, and marine mammals that are caught and discarded or have interacted with the fishing gear. These fishermen may also provide information about dockside prices, trip operating costs, and annual fixed costs.

NOAA is currently drafting revised regulations to comply with a court order from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which effectively invalidated previous regulations implemented by NMFS. That rule is not yet available or effective during this time and therefore, this collection still reflects those requirements. In the future, a request for a revision will be submitted to comply with the approved court order.

Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that NMFS and regional fishery management councils prevent overfishing and achieve the optimum yield from federally managed fish stocks on a continuing basis. These mandates are intended to ensure that fishery resources are managed for the greatest overall benefit to the nation, particularly with respect to providing food production and recreational opportunities, and protecting marine ecosystems. To further this goal, the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires the collection of reliable data essential to the effective conservation, management, and scientific understanding of the nation’s fishery resources. Specifically, section 303(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act specifies data and analyses to be included in fishery management plans (FMPs), as well as pertinent data that must be submitted to the Secretary of Commerce under those FMPs. Additionally, the collection of recreational fisheries catch and effort data is necessary to comply with Executive Order 12962¹ on recreational fisheries.

NMFS has existing regulations in 50 CFR part 622² and approved information collections under 0648-0016 that require specific types of recordkeeping and reporting from the fishing industry and the communities to support scientifically based management actions to achieve NMFS’ stewardship responsibilities throughout the U.S. southeast region, which covers marine areas from Texas through North Carolina. The fishing effort, catch, and landings statistics collected by the Southeast Logbook Family of Forms are necessary to provide NMFS with comprehensive and accurate data to estimate fishing mortality. Without these data, a significant increase in the uncertainty of stock assessment analyses is likely to occur and the error bounds around the stock benchmarks, such as maximum sustainable yield, will be unacceptably large.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

The information provided by the data collection activities in OMB Control No. 0648-0016 is used by several offices of NMFS, fishery management council staff, and state fishery agencies to develop, implement, and monitor fishery management regimes. NMFS, fishery management councils, the fishing industry, congressional staff, and the public use summarizations and analyses of vessel data to answer questions about the nature of fisheries resources. Additionally these data serve as input for a variety of uses, such as biological analyses and fish stock assessments; Executive Order 12291 regulatory impact analyses; quota and allocation selections and monitoring; economic profitability profiles; trade and import tariff decisions; allocations of grant funds among states; identify ecological interactions among species. NMFS would be significantly hindered in its ability to fulfill the majority of its scientific research and fishery management missions without these data. The primary use of these data, however, is to support the management of the fisheries resources under federal jurisdiction. The Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) routinely performs 6 to 10 stock assessments per year using data collected under the Southeast Logbook Family of Forms (note, an assessment is not necessarily needed for each species every year; consequently, some assessments are performed every 3 to 5 years).

The Southeast Logbook Family of Forms has evolved as a means of collecting data from specific user groups within fisheries that are managed under federally implemented FMPs. NMFS’ SEFSC has the responsibility for both preparation of stock assessments (estimation of maximum sustainable yield or other indexes of biomass) and collection of the scientific data that are required to perform the assessments. A secondary data collection responsibility is to provide information that is necessary to routinely monitor and evaluate the conditions in the fisheries under federal management.

Similar data elements are required for most of the logbook forms or electronic reporting systems in this family of forms, although a few variables may be specific to one fishery or type of management technique regulating harvest.

a) Information such as name and address of a vessel operator and owner is used to identify the respondent and the legal entity controlling the fishing practices of the vessel. The legal entity requirement is essential in monitoring the compliance of the reporting requirement, where revocations of the operators permit or fines are involved. Because corporations own many vessels, identification of an owner and operator on the logbook form allows NMFS to sanction the company as well as the individual vessel operator as necessary or required by the regulations. Information on the permit is obviously essential to monitoring reporting compliance.

b) Data on date of departure, date returned, days fished, duration of tows or sets, units of gear and mesh size used are all designed to quantify actual fishing effort. Fishing effort is needed to standardize differences in productivity among vessels or fishing grounds by establishing a rate of catch per unit time. These data allow comparisons over time, area and gear type of catches made by a variety of harvesters. Comparisons of catch and catch per unit effort (CPUE) over time are significant indicators of the biological status of the fisheries. Declining CPUE, especially if data on fishing effort are sufficiently detailed to adjust for changes in effort, can provide critical information on the status of the stock, i.e., that the level of harvest is beyond the level that is sustainable by growth and reproduction of the stock.

c) Area fished, depth of fishing, and latitude and longitude are variables that are used to establish fishing locations. This information can be related to other oceanographic and biological information to predict species availability and likely future abundance. For example, location of capture can be correlated to sea surface temperature measured by satellite to predict possible migration patterns. In addition, area or zone fished is used to cross reference locations where fishing is not permissible (such as closed spawning areas).

d) Species information such as landings information is needed because controlling the quantity of fish harvested is often the means for ensuring that harvests can be replenished over time. Fish size is the basic measure of fishing success, from which fishermen, biologists, and economists infer conclusions about the status of the fishery. The number of fish discarded and the method used to release fish with gas bladders vented, and fish released with descending devices or fish released without descending devices is used to accurately account for fishing mortality when performing stock assessments

e) The name of a buyer, dealer number, and port of landing are data used to cross reference the quantity of fish caught with the quantity that is handled (processed) by the market. The important cross reference is between the total amount of catch, and the respective sizes of individual fish. It would be impossible for fishermen to measure individual fish as they are being caught and stored on board the vessels. However, many species of fish, especially the large pelagic species, are individually weighted by the dealers and these weights are recorded as part of the sales transactions. By knowing the dealer that purchased the fish, cross references can be made between data submitted by the dealers and the data from the logbooks. Combining the data in this manner provides greater precision on the CPUE estimates and more information on the sizes of catches by location and time.

f) Trip cost information such as fuel, tackle, bait, ice, labor, and miscellaneous expenses associated with the effort data for individual trips is used for evaluating regulatory proposals and to better understand how the cost of fishing varies with changes in fishing effort. With a better quantitative understanding of these relationships, NMFS can provide better estimates of the potential impacts of management regulations on fishing effort.

g) A separate form or response is required for many of the logbook reporting forms in 0648-0016 when a vessel does not fish during an entire calendar month or another defined period. These no-fishing report forms are necessary to assure NMFS that the vessel did not fish instead of failing to report. The information on the no-fishing form is minimal, i.e., only the vessel ID, vessel name, the month or other period in which the vessel did not fish, and the federal permits that vessel has been issued (a check box is provided for ease of identifying the permits). Most no-fishing forms are located in the back of the logbook booklets and are to be submitted via mail in the self-addressed, stamped envelopes provided by NMFS. Because of the nature of the reporting, no-fishing reports are not required for the headboat trip report, the aquacultured live rock report, the annual fixed cost survey, the cost-earnings form (this information is included on the regular coastal logbook form), and the supplemental discard form.

The following are brief descriptions of the 0648-0016 information collections.

Southeast Region Headboat Survey (SRHS). Fishing from a headboat is a type of recreational fishing and represents a relatively small, but specialized component and the data collection of information from this fishery component by SEFSC predates and is separate from the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) data collection (0648-0652). To collect trip-level catch and effort data from this fishery in the Gulf of America (Gulf) and South Atlantic, a separate logbook program collects these data on a weekly basis, which is more precise information than the MRIP survey. Total catch and participation estimates for all headboat fishing activity are made from the SRHS. The need for good quality, representative CPUE, and species composition data from this recreational fishery component is the primary reason that NMFS implemented this program.

Gulf of America Reef Fish, South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper, King and Spanish Mackerel, Shark, Atlantic Dolphin and Wahoo logbook (coastal logbook). The program to collect logbook data in the Gulf was initiated in April 1990. The purpose of the program is to provide critically needed data on individual commercial fishing trips for species in this important management unit. The diversity of gear in this fishery (i.e., longline, hook and line, traps, spears, and buoy) and the variety of species increases the need to have detailed CPUE and species composition data. Furthermore, because species in this management unit are not highly migratory, it is important that detailed information on the CPUE and species composition are collected by area, so that assessments can be made for major reef complexes to determine how fishing effort is affecting these complexes over time.

This logbook program includes only commercial fishermen who have been issued a federal vessel permit and are required to sell their catches to permitted seafood dealers. Consequently, for-hire recreational fishermen do not submit logbooks for the Gulf reef fish fishery (see the description for the SRHS above).

The logbook program for the South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery was initiated in January 1992. The purpose of this program, as for the Gulf reef fish program, is to collect data on fishing effort, CPUE, and species composition. The snapper-grouper fishery is similar to the fishery for reef fish in the Gulf; consequently, the logbook forms used for the two fisheries are the same.

As with the fisheries in OMB Control No. 0648-0016, the purpose of the logbook program for king and Spanish mackerel is to collect fishing effort, catch, and area for this fishery in both the Gulf and the South Atlantic. The assessments for king and Spanish mackerel were improved by the availability of this CPUE data. There are other species in this FMP; however, logbook reporting for these species is not required via this logbook at this time.

Cost-earnings data section. The purpose of this data collection (20 percent sample) is to provide economic information about commercial fishermen in federal waters, which is necessary for the agency to address National Standard 8 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The reporting form requests information about operating costs associated with the individual fishing trips. The intent is to use the cost information associated with the effort data for individual trips to better understand how the cost of fishing varies with changes in fishing effort and the impacts of management measures on fishing communities. With a better (quantitative) understanding of these relationships, NMFS can provide better estimates of the potential impacts of management regulations on fishing effort.

Annual fixed cost survey for vessels required to use the coastal logbook. This survey is associated with the cost-earnings data collection. The purpose of this data collection is to provide information on the annual fixed costs (i.e., expenditures that are made infrequently throughout the year or only once per year) incurred by the commercial fishermen in federal waters. The survey instrument is sent to the same fishermen that are required to report their cost data for each trip.

Supplemental discard reporting logbook for vessels required to use the coastal logbook. This Program was developed and initiated in August 2001, as a supplemental form to the Gulf reef fish, South Atlantic snapper-grouper, shark and mackerel logbook form. The purpose of this instrument is to have the fishermen record the species and numbers of discards that they had for each trip. The form also asks the fishermen to report any interactions with marine mammals, endangered species or sea birds that they incurred on each trip. The purpose of this data collection is to collect information on the types and numbers of animals (species) that fishermen in these coastal fisheries discard or in the case of endangered species and marine mammals with which they interact, so the agency is able to address National Standard 9 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which deals with bycatch. This data collection is conducted as a supplement to the regular logbook reporting so that the fishing effort, catch, and area of fishing can be associated with the discards or interactions.

Wreckfish logbook. The wreckfish fishery is part of the South Atlantic snapper-group management unit. Historically, there were concerns about the status of the wreckfish stock, and therefore, NMFS implemented specific management measures to collect data from fishermen that harvest this species. Although separate logbooks are used for this fishery, they require the same basic CPUE and fishing location data as the other logbooks in the family, but the program also collects information on shares of the individual transferable quota for wreckfish used during each trip.

Golden crab logbook. Fisheries for this species of deep-water crabs occur in both the Gulf and the South Atlantic. This logbook program is designed to collect the quantity of golden crab that are caught in designated areas. The form is distinct from the other forms authorized by regulations (50 CFR part 622) because lines of traps are used to catch these species and the amount of catch needs to be reported by trap line instead of for an entire trip.

South Atlantic for-hire logbook . This information collection includes federally permitted recreational charter vessels in Atlantic coastal migratory pelagic, Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, or South Atlantic snapper-grouper fisheries, and does not include for-hire vessels in the SRHS. Permit holders must submit trip-level electronic fishing reports (logbooks) at weekly intervals, or at shorter intervals if notified by NMFS, through NMFS-approved hardware and software. Information collected includes fishing location and effort, fish harvested and discarded, as well as socio-economic and other data.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also, describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

Electronic reporting is being utilized to report the detailed, trip level data for two logbook programs - the SRHS and South Atlantic For-hire Electronic Reporting Programs. A web-based electronic reporting program is being used to report months where fishing has not occurred in the coastal fisheries logbook. NMFS is investigating various methods of recording and reporting CPUE data from at sea vessels of the other fisheries including tablet and smart phone applications developed by third party companies. However, the large number of vessels involved in the affected fisheries and the cost per participant for the electronic and telecommunication equipment must be considered before mandating its use by fishermen. Options to require electronic reporting for the coastal fisheries logbook are currently being explored.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Question 2.

The Magnuson-Stevens Act's operational guidelines require each FMP to evaluate existing state and federal laws that govern the fisheries in question, and the findings are made part of each FMP. Membership for each fishery management council is composed of state and federal officials responsible for resource management in their state or area. This joint participation enables identification of other collections that may be gathering the same or similar information. In addition, each FMP undergoes extensive public comment periods where potential applicants review the proposed permit application requirements. Therefore, NMFS is confident it would be aware of similar collections if they existed.

Detailed information on CPUE, effort, and species composition by gear and area is not available from other sources. Some states, notably Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and North Carolina, have programs to collect landings by species for individual fishing trips (i.e., operational trip ticket programs), but these programs do not include the detailed information on location and effort that are required in the reporting requirements for this OMB request. Furthermore, these programs collect the data from seafood processors, and not fishermen, whereas logbooks are submitted directly by the fishermen.

NMFS collaborates with state natural resource agencies and the regional interstate fisheries commission on the Gulf coast to ensure that recreational fisheries data collections are not duplicative. Every 5 years, the Fish and Wildlife Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior conducts the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (OMB Control No. 1018-0088). This survey collects minimal information about annual recreational saltwater fishing activity within the context of additional recreational activities.

Finally, as described earlier, there are several separate logbook forms included in the Southeast Logbook Family of Forms and several of the forms are used for multiple fisheries. For example, the data reporting required by the South Atlantic snapper-grouper, coastal migratory pelagic species, and the Gulf reef fish FMPs and federal regulations have been combined and are reported on a single form. This approach is helpful for respondents because many fishermen hold multiple federal permits and participate in multiple fisheries.

Although sharks are part of a different FMP (Highly Migratory Species FMP), and the reporting burden for these species are covered by OMB Control No. 0648-0371, the fishing operations for large and small coastal sharks are very similar to the fishing methods for Gulf reef fish and South Atlantic snapper-grouper species. Thus, the coastal logbook form under OMB Control No. 0648-0016 includes space for fishermen to report the catch, effort, and area of catch for coastal sharks. The pelagic shark fishermen will continue to report using the highly migratory species logbook (OMB Control No. 0648-0371).

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

Because NMFS considers all respondents to be small businesses, there are no separate information collection requirements based on size of business. The estimated burden on the respondents is to be minimized by collecting only the minimum data to meet the analytical needs of NMFS.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

For the existing information collections under 0648-0016, the consequence of not having detailed catch and species composition data would increase the uncertainty associated with the stock assessments that are the basis for sound management decisions. As with any statistical analysis, the confidence limits (bounds) for specific points will be large if there is significant uncertainty in the data. With the availability of the logbook data, the sample sizes for the various stratifications of gear and area are sufficiently large to reduce the uncertainty in the data to acceptable levels.

The logbook data also provide critical information on the type and amount of effort. Without these data, there would be no way of knowing whether changes in total catch are due to changes in fishing effort or changes in the abundance of the resource, or both.

If the economic data (cost, earnings, and fixed cost) were collected less frequently or not at all, then economists would be less able to estimate the effects of regulations on financial performance or fishermen’s expected reactions to different regulations. Future proposed fisheries regulations would continue to be debated with less economic information. Another consequence of not having representative economic data could be judicial remand of conservation regulations challenged on grounds of inadequate analysis of economic impact to individual firms.

Not having discard data would also increase the uncertainty associated with the stock assessments. Furthermore, there is a lack of scientifically collected information on discards in many of these fisheries and consequently, it is difficult to determine whether discarding is a significant problem. Clearly, the data from observers in other fisheries, notably the pelagic longline fishery, show that discards are substantial and that their occurrence is variable. Consequently, NMFS has determined that it is necessary to collect discard data for coastal fisheries.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.

Federal regulations require fishermen to submit completed logbooks for all trips or sets for several reasons. First, it is critical that these data be timely. For fisheries that interact with fish stocks determined by NMFS to be overfished, it is important to monitor changes in fishing mortality. Secondly, the renewal of federal vessel permits is predicated on compliance with the reporting requirements, and timely data are needed to determine whether fishermen are complying on a regular basis. Thirdly, quality control of the logbook data is better when the review and verification process is closer to the actual time that fishing occurred.

The collection of information will otherwise be conducted in a manner consistent with OMB guidelines.

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publications in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

NMFS published a notice in the Federal Register on August 16, 2024 (89 FR 66693) to solicit public comments on the revision of the 0648-0016 information collection. The notice indicated that NOAA proposed to revise parts of the information collections currently approved under OMB Control Number 0648-0016 to comply with a court order from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which effectively invalidated previous regulations implemented by NMFS. However, the publication of the rule to rescind those regulations has not yet been published. NOAA therefore intends to proceed with an extension of this collection only, and a revision to reflect the court order will be published at a later date. NMFS did not receive any comments on the Federal Register notice.

NOAA consulted with 5 vessel captains to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported. No responses were received.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

This data collection will not include any incentives to prospective respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy. If the collection requires a systems of records notice or privacy impact assessment, those should be cited and described here.

Data collected via OMB Control No. 0648-0016 are treated in accordance with NOAA Administrative Order 216-100³, Confidential Fisheries Statistics. Reports are considered confidential under the Trade Secrets Act. In addition, landings statistics are considered to be in an entrepreneurial capacity and will be exempt from the Privacy Act concerns. It is the policy of the NMFS that confidential data are not to be released to non-authorized users, other than in aggregate form, as the Magnuson-Stevens Act protects (in perpetuity) the confidentiality of those submitting data. Whenever data are requested, NMFS ensures that information identifying the commercial business activity of a particular vessel is not identified.

NOAA System of Records Notice (SORN) NOAA-19⁴, Permits and Registrations for United States Federally Regulated Fisheries, provides the authority for this collection of information. The information captured in this collection is identified in the privacy impact assessment (PIA) for NOAA4400⁵, Southeast Fisheries Science Center.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior or attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

No sensitive questions are asked.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information.

Information Collection	Respondent Type (e.g., Occupational Title)	Annual Number of Respondents	Annual Number of Responses per Respondent	Total # of Annual Responses	Burden Hrs per Response	Total Annual Burden Hrs	Hourly Wage Rate* ($) (for Type of Respondent)	Total Annual Wage Burden Costs ($)
		(a)	(b)	(c) = (a) x (b)	(d)	(e) = (c) x (d)	(f)	(g) = (e) x (f)
Headboat Logbook	Vessel Captain	132	186	24,552	9.1394 min	3,740	$30.46	$113,920
Headboat Logbook		132	166	21,912	10 min	3,652	30.46	$111,240
Headboat Logbook - No fishing report		132	20	2,640	2 min	88	30.46	$2,680
Annual Cost Survey for Snapper-Grouper, Reef Fish, Mackerel, and Dolphin-Wahoo Permit Holders	Vessel captain	659	1	659	45 min	494	30.46	$15,047
Economic Trip Cost Logbook for SE Coastal Fisheries	Vessel captain	659	11.16	7,354	10 min	1,226	30.46	$37,344
Coastal Logbook	Vessel captain	3,292	18	59,256	6 min	5,926	30.46	$180,506
Coastal Logbook - Vessel Trip Report		3,292	9	29,628	10 min	4,939	30.46	$150,442
Coastal Logbook - No fishing report		3,292	9	29,628	2 min	987	30.46	$30,064
Discard report for Snapper-Grouper, Reef Fish, Mackerel and Dolphin-Wahoo Permit Holders	Vessel captain	457	20.68	9,451	15 min	2,363	30.46	$71,977
Gold Crab Logbook	Vessel captain	9	10.777	97	6 min	10	30.46	$305
Golden Crab Logbook		9	5	48	10 min	8	30.46	$244
Golden Crab Logbook - No fishing report		9	5	49	2 min	2	30.46	$61
Wreckfish Logbook	Vessel captain	10	8.7	87	6 min	9	30.46	$274
Wreckfish Trip Report Logbook		10	4	39	10 min	7	30.46	$213
Wreckfish Logbook - No fishing report		10	5	48	2 min	2	30.46	$61
South Atlantic For-Hire Electronic Reporting Program	Vessel captain	1918	52.372	100,451	5.378 min	9,004	$30.46	$274,262
South Atlantic For-hire Elec Reporting Prgm (Fishing report - charter vessels)		1918	22	42,414	10 min	7,069	30.46	$215,322
No-fishing report (charter vessels)		1918	30	58,037	2 min	1,935	30.46	$58,940
Gulf for-hire Electronic Reporting Program	Fishermen	325	0.34	109	5 hours	545	$30.46	$16,601
Trip Declaration	Fishermen	1,368	94.08	128,700	2 min	4,290	$30.46	$130,673
Fishing Report (per trip)	Fishermen	1,368	94.08	128,700	10 min	21,450	$30.46	$653,367
Power-Down Exemption	Fishermen	1,368	0.25	342	5 min	29	$30.46	$883
Landing Location Request	Fishermen	1,368	0.29	400	5 min	33	$30.46	$1,005
Intercept Survey (to validate Gulf for-hire Program	Fishermen	1,150	1	1,150	15 min	288	$30.46	$8,772
Total for Collection				461,308		49,407		$1,504,936

Hourly wage rate source: May 2024 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for “first-line supervisors/managers of farming, fishing, and forestry workers (45-1011)” at https://data.bls.gov/oesprofile/.

13. Provide an estimate for the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden already reflected on the burden worksheet).

For the current approved information collections, NMFS provides respondents with addressed, postage-paid envelopes that they use to return the completed forms. The table below summarizes the estimated costs for the information collections under 0648-0016.

Information Collection	# of Respondents (a)	Annual # of Responses / Respondent (b)	Total # of Annual Responses (c)=(a) x (b)	Cost Burden per Response ($) (h)	Total Annual Cost Burden (i) = (c) x (h)
South Atlantic For-hire Elec Reporting Prgm Operations and maintenance costs	212	1	212	600	$127,200
Computer and Internet start-up costs 2021	212	1	212	100	$63,600; $21,200 annualized
Gulf For-hire Electronic Reporting Program Purchase of monitoring unit	325	1	325	1,000	$325,000; $108,000 annualized
Installation of Monitoring Unit	325	1	325	500	$162,500; $54,167 annualized
Reporting Requirements Total	1,368	≈ 94	128,700	≈ 10.84	$1,395,360
Trip declaration	included	included	included	included
Fishing report per trip	included	included	included	included
Location reporting	included	included	included	included
Power-down exemption request	342	1	342	0.60	$205
Landing Location Request	n/a	n/a	132	0.60	$79 annualized
TOTALS (annualized estimates)			130,248		$1,706,211

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal Government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.

Cost Descriptions	Grade or Step	Loaded Salary or Cost	Percent of Effort	Fringe (if Applicable)	Total Cost to Government
Logbook Programs, remaining
Federal employees (10)	ZA-III / 3	$169,571	50		$847,855
Contractors (5, annual)	Fish Bio II	110,000	75		412,500
IT support (4, annual)	ZP-III / 3	$169,571	100		$678,284
Printing and postage (annual)					100,000
TOTAL					$2,038,639

The federal salaries were determined using the Department of Commerce Alternative Personnel Pay System (CAPS) pay tables for the Rest of U.S. location. https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2024-01/CAPS_rpStandard_2024.pdf The Rest of U.S. location was used as NOAA employees are geographically dispersed. A multiplier of 1.5 was used to calculate the loaded salary. Many of these logbook programs share resources such as program staff and computer support. Therefore, these calculations were made for all the programs combined.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in ROCIS.

Information Collection	Respondents		Responses		Burden Hours		Reason for change or adjustment
	Current Renewal / Revision	Previous Renewal / Revision	Current Renewal / Revision	Previous Renewal / Revision	Current Renewal / Revision	Previous Renewal / Revision
Headboat Logbook	132	139	24,552	25,527	3,740	3,984
Headboat Logbook	132	139	21,912	23,452	3,652	3,916	Adjustment for seasonal fishing differences (2019 - 2023 average)
Headboat Logbook - No fishing report	132	139	2,641	2,075	88	68	Adjustment for seasonal fishing differences (2019 - 2023 average)
Annual Cost Survey for Snapper-Grouper, Reef Fish, Mackerel, and Dolphin-Wahoo Permit Holders	659	693	659	712	494	534	Adjustment for seasonal fishing differences (2019 - 2023 average)
Economic Trip Cost Logbook for SE Coastal Fisheries	659	693	7,354	14,952	1,226	2,497	Adjustment for seasonal fishing differences (2019 - 2023 average)
Coastal Logbook - Vessel Trip Report	3,292	3,441	59,256	66,751	5,926	7,052
Coastal Logbook - Vessel Trip Report	3,292	3,441	28,669	36,194	4,778	6,044	Adjustment for seasonal fishing differences (2019 - 2023 average)
Coastal Logbook - No fishing report	3,292	3,441	28,393	30,557	946	1,008	Adjustment for seasonal fishing differences (2019 - 2023 average)
Discard report for Snapper-Grouper, Reef Fish, Mackerel and Dolphin-Wahoo Permit Holders	457	474	9,451	12,296	2,363	3,074	Adjustment for seasonal fishing differences (2019 - 2023 average)
Golden Crab Log Report	9	11	97	189	10	22
Golden Crab Logbook	9	11	48	117	8	20	Adjustment for seasonal fishing differences (2019 - 2023 average)
Golden Crab Logbook - No fishing report	9	11	49	72	2	2	Adjustment for seasonal fishing differences (2019 - 2023 average)
Wreckfish Trip Report Logbook	10	7	87	80	9	9
Wreckfish Trip Report Logbook	10	7	39	50	7	8	Adjustment for seasonal fishing differences (2019 - 2023 average)
Wreckfish Logbook - No fishing report	10	7	48	30	2	1	Adjustment for seasonal fishing differences (2019 - 2023 average)
South Atlantic For-hire Elec Reporting Prgm	1,918	2,119	100,451	166,986	9,004	25,625
Fishing report (charter vessels)	1,918	2,119	42,414	150,438	7,069	25,073	Adjustment for actual data vs previous estimates
No-fishing report (charter vessels)	1,918	2,119	58,037	16,548	1,935	552	Adjustment for actual data vs previous estimates
Gulf For-hire Electronic Reporting Program	325	325	109	109	545	542	These collections will be rescinded in a forthcoming rule-making. No changes were made to the number of respondents or burden information.
Trip declaration	1,368	1,368	128,700	128,700	4,290	4,290
Fishing report (per trip)	1,368	1,368	128,700	128,700	21,450	21,450
Power-down exemption request	1,368	1,368	342	342	29	29
Landing location request	1,368	1,368	400	400	33	33
Intercept Survey (to validate Gulf For-hire Pgrm)	1,150	1,150	1,150	1,150	288	288
Total for Collection	14,083	14,524	461,308	546,894	49,407	69,429
Difference	-441		-85,586		-20,022

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

The results from this collection are not expected to be published but will be used as empirical input to stock assessments, economic analyses, and other analyses of proposed or existing fishery management regulations prepared by NMFS.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

The agency plans to display the expiration date on all instruments.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions.”

The agency certifies compliance with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

1 http://regulationwriters.com/library/EO12962.pdf

2 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-50/chapter-VI/part-622?toc=1

3 https://www.noaa.gov/organization/administration/nao-216-100-protection-of-confidential-fisheries-statistics

4 https://www.commerce.gov/opog/privacy/SORN

5https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2025-05/NOAA4400%20PIA%20FY25-%20SAOP%20Approved%20Delegated.pdf