Comment window opens on Alaska fishing license transfer paperwork renewal

Alaska commercial fishers have until around Aug. 16 to comment on federal paperwork governing License Limitation Program transfers for Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska groundfish, crab, and scallop fisheries. NOAA published the 30-day notice Friday.

The LLP restricts access to federal-water commercial fisheries off Alaska and limits participants. Because a transfer is not effective until NOAA Fisheries receives and approves a complete application, the paperwork process directly controls whether a sale can close. The program covers roughly 68 respondents annually, with a total annual burden of 38 hours.

This is the second and final Paperwork Reduction Act step before the Office of Management and Budget acts on renewal. Comments were first sought Dec. 30, 2025. The only substantive change is that transfer forms can now be submitted electronically via email. Sheleen Dumas, Departmental PRA Compliance Officer at the Commerce Department, put it plainly: "All of the forms can now be submitted electronically via email. There are no other changes to this collection."

The notice covers three forms: the application for transfer of groundfish and crab LLP licenses, the application for transfer of scallop LLP licenses, and the transfer appeal. Unlike groundfish and crab LLP licenses, the scallop LLP license is not vessel-specific.

Comments must be submitted through reginfo.gov using OMB Control Number 0648-0334, either by selecting "Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments" or by searching the collection title or control number.