Billing Code 3510- 22
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; West Coast Region Gear
Identification Requirements
The Department of Commerce will submit the following information collection request to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and
minimize the public's reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the
Federal Register on April 2, 2024, during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an
additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
Title: West Coast Region Gear Identification Requirements.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0352.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular Submission [Extension of a current information collection].
Number of Respondents: 942.
Average Hours Per Response: 15 minutes per marking.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 848.
Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a currently approved information
collection. The success of fisheries management programs depends significantly on regulatory
compliance. The requirements that fishing gear be marked are essential to facilitate enforcement.
The ability to link fishing gear to the vessel owner or operator is crucial to enforcement of

regulations issued under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act. The marking of fishing gear is also valuable in actions concerning damage,
loss, and civil proceedings. The regulations specify that fishing gear must be marked with the
vessel's official number, Federal permit or tag number, or some other specified form of
identification. The regulations further specify how the gear is to be marked (e.g., location and
color). Law enforcement personnel rely on gear marking information to assure compliance with
fisheries management regulations. Gear that is not properly identified is confiscated. Gear
violations are more readily prosecuted when the gear is marked, and this allows for more costeffective enforcement. Gear marking helps ensure that a vessel harvests fish only from its own
traps/pots/other gear and the gear are not illegally placed. Cooperating fishermen also use the
gear marking numbers to report suspicious or non-compliant activities that they observe, and to
report placement or occurrence of gear in unauthorized areas. The identifying number on fishing
gear is used by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the United States Coast Guard
(USCG), and other marine agencies in issuing regulations, prosecutions, and other enforcement
actions necessary to support sustainable fisheries behaviors as intended in regulations.
Regulation-compliant fishermen ultimately benefit from these requirements, as unauthorized and
illegal fishing is deterred, and more burdensome regulations are avoided.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
Frequency: Every 5 years.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Fixed-gear marking requirements are set forth in the regulations
implementing the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fisheries Management Plan at 50 CFR 660.219 and
660.319.
This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the
instructions to view the Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should
be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting
"Currently under 30-day Review - Open for Public Comments" or by using the search function
and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number 0648-0352.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.

[FR Doc. 2024-14117 Filed: 6/26/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/27/2024]