This request is for extension of a current recreational information collection for Pacific and Wester Pacific Billfish.
The International Billfish Angler Survey began in 1969 and is an integral part of the Billfish Research Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC). The survey tracks recreational angler fishing catch and effort for billfish in the Pacific and Indian Oceans in support of the Pacific and Western Pacific Fishery Management Councils, authorized under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act (MSA). The data are used by scientists and fishery managers to assist with assessing the status of billfish stocks. The survey is intended for anglers cooperating in the Billfish Program and is entirely voluntary. This survey is specific to recreational anglers fishing for Istiophorid and Xiphiid billfish in the Pacific and Indian Oceans; as such it provides the only estimates of catch per unit of effort for recreational billfish fishing in those areas
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 10, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet atJJessup@doc.gov).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument and instructions can be directed to James Wraith, (858) 546-7087 or james.wraith@noaa.gov
