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 March 16, 2026 (91 FR 12584) during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

Title: Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program.

OMB Control Number: 0648-0269.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of current information collection).

Number of Respondents: 6.

Average Hours per Response: CDQ Vessel Registration System, 10 minutes; Groundfish/Halibut CDQ and PSQ Transfer Request, 30 minutes; Application for Approval of Use of Non-CDQ Harvest Regulations, 5 hours; Appeals, 4 hours.

Total Annual Burden Hours: 36 hours.

Needs and Uses: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Regional Office, is requesting extension of a currently approved information collection that contains four components necessary for NMFS to manage the Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program (CDQ Program).

NMFS and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic zone off Alaska under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands are managed under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area.

The CDQ Program is an economic development program authorized under the Magnuson Stevens Act to provide eligible western Alaska villages with the opportunity to participate and invest in fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area, to support economic development in western Alaska, to alleviate poverty and provide economic and social benefits for residents of western Alaska, and to achieve sustainable and diversified local economies in western Alaska.

This information collection is used by NMFS to manage the small vessel CDQ fisheries, transfer quota among the CDQ groups, and authorize the use of alternative harvest regulations under certain circumstances.

This information collection contains the following four components:

• The CDQ Vessel Registration System is an online system used by the CDQ groups to add small hook-and-line catcher vessels to the CDQ vessel registration list. Registered vessels are exempt from the requirements to obtain and carry a License Limitation Program license under regulations at50 CFR part 679. This system is also used to remove vessels from the CDQ vessel registration list.
• The Groundfish/Halibut CDQ and Prohibited Species Quota (PSQ) Transfer Request form is used to transfer annual amounts of groundfish and halibut CDQ and PSQ, except Bering Sea Chinook salmon, between two CDQ groups. This form is completed by the transferring and receiving CDQ groups.
• The Application for Approval of Use of Non-CDQ Harvest Regulations is used by a CDQ group, an association representing CDQ groups, or a voluntary fishing cooperative to request approval to use non CDQ harvest regulations when the CDQ regulations are more restrictive than the regulations otherwise required for participants in non-CDQ groundfish fisheries.
• An appeals process is provided for an applicant who receives an adverse initial administrative determination ( printed page 56643) related to its Application for Approval of Use of Non-CDQ Harvest Regulations.

Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions; Business or other for-profit organizations.

Frequency: On occasion.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.

Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

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 0648-0269.