U.S.-Canada Albacore Treaty Reporting System

This request is for an extension of a current information collection. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), West Coast Region (WCR), manages the United States (U.S.) - Canada Albacore Tuna Treaty of 1981 (Treaty). Owners of vessels that fish from U.S. West Coast ports for albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) are required to notify the NMFS WCR of their desire to be on the list of vessels provided to Canada each year indicating vessels eligible to fish for albacore tuna in waters under the jurisdiction of Canada. Additionally, vessel operators are required to report in advance their intention to fish in Canadian waters prior to crossing the maritime border as well as to mark their fishing vessels to facilitate enforcement of the effort limits under the Treaty. Vessel operators are also required to maintain and submit a logbook of all catch and fishing effort. The regulations implementing the reporting and vessel marking requirements under the Treaty are at 50 CFR part 300.172–300.176. If a vessel enters into Canadian waters without adhering to these regulations, they will be in violation of the treaty and Canadian enforcement may issue a fine or a warning. The estimated burden below includes hours to complete the logbook requirement, although it is assumed that most if not all of the respondents already complete the required logbook under the mandatory West Coast Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan (HMS FMP), OMB Control No. 0648–0223. Duplicate reporting under the Treaty and HMS FMP is not required. Most years, there will be much less fishing (and thus less reporting) under the Treaty than the level on which the estimate is based.

The latest form for U.S.-Canada Albacore Treaty Reporting System expires 2027-05-31 and can be found here.

Request to be listed as eligible vessel

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Natural Resources - Conservation, Marine and Land Management