Please note that the OMB number and expiration date may not have been determined when this Information Collection Request and associated Information Collection forms were submitted to OMB. The approved OMB number and expiration date may be found by clicking on the Notice of Action link below.

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion

OMB Control No: 0648-0202	ICR Reference No: 201606-0648-011
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201601-0648-010
Agency/Subagency: DOC/NOAA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Greater Atlantic Region Permit Family of Forms
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved with change	Conclusion Date: 08/30/2016
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 07/05/2016
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	08/31/2019	36 Months From Approved	08/31/2016
Responses	224,765	0	156,799
Time Burden (Hours)	17,481	0	14,993
Cost Burden (Dollars)	3,248,423	0	1,950,421

Abstract: The issuance of a permit is an essential part of managing fishery resources. The purpose and use of permits is to: (1) Register vessel owners, vessel operators, fishing vessels, fish dealers, and processors; (2) list the characteristics of fishing vessels and/or dealer/processor operations; (3) exercise influence over compliance (e.g., withhold permit issuance pending collection of unpaid penalties, or unsubmitted, but required data); (4) provide a mailing list for the dissemination of important information to the industry; (5) register participants to be considered for limited entry; and (6) provide a universe for data collection samples. Identification of the participants, their gear types, vessels, and expected activity levels is an effective and necessary tool in the enforcement of fishery regulations. This information collection also includes the requirement for onboard vessel monitoring systems (VMS) and reporting via VMS. Vessels are also required to request, in writing, participation in any of the various exemption programs offered in the Northeast region. Exemption programs may allow a vessel to fish in an area that is limited to vessels of a particular size, using a certain gear type, or fishing for a particular species. Vessels are also required to request gillnet and lobster tags through the Northeast region permit office when using gillnet gear or lobster traps. Lastly, vessel owners that own multiple vessels, but would like to request communication from NMFS be consolidated into one mailing (and not separate mailings for each vessel), may request the single letter vessel owner option to improve efficiency of their business practice. This action seeks to renew Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance for this collection.

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	224,765	156,799	-8	67,974
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	17,481	14,993	0	2,488
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	3,248,423	1,950,421	0	1,298,002

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

Burden Increase Due to:

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

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The burden estimates for this information collection have been revised and updated as necessary for this revision. The majority of the information collections in this family of forms have been in place since 2012, and precise estimates of burden are known and included in this comprehensive revision. Some burden and cost estimates had not been updated recently and are updated in this revision. More accurate numbers for VMS participants have been estimated using all VMS registrants for 2015 and one error in the previous calculation of burden and costs for the gillnet program has been corrected. Postage and VMS transmission costs have also incrreased in the past 3 years.