[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 147 (Tuesday, August 2, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-18703]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 2, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 071594C]

 

Marine Mammals: Pinniped Removal Authority

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of application to establish a Pinniped-
Fishery Interaction Task Force; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the receipt of, and requests comments and 
information on, an application under section 120 of the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act (MMPA) from the Washington Department of Fish and 
Wildlife (WDFW). This application requests the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) to establish a Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force 
(Task Force) and initiate the process provided by the MMPA to authorize 
the intentional lethal taking of individually identifiable California 
sea lions that prey on wild winter-run steelhead that migrate through 
the Ballard Locks in Seattle, WA. This authorization is requested in 
order to protect the 1994-95 Lake Washington winter-run of steelhead.

DATES: Comments and information must be received by September 1, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to J. Gary 
Smith, Acting Director, Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, 
Seattle, WA 98115. A copy of the application and supplemental documents 
may be obtained by writing to this address or by telephoning the 
contacts listed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Scordino, Northwest Region, NMFS, 
206-526-6143 or Ken Hollingshead, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 
301-713-2055.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 120 of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) as amended in 
1994, provides the Secretary the discretion to authorize the 
intentional lethal taking of individually identifiable pinnipeds which 
are having a significant negative impact on salmonids that are either: 
(1) Listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA); (2) approaching a 
threatened or endangered status; or (3) migrate through the Ballard 
Locks in Seattle. The authorization applies only to pinnipeds that are 
not: (1) Listed under the ESA; (2) designated as depleted; or (3) 
designated a strategic stock. The process for determining whether to 
implement the authority in section 120 commences with a state 
developing and submitting an application that provides a detailed 
description of the interaction problem, the means of identifying the 
individual pinnipeds, and expected benefits of the taking. Within 15 
days of receiving an application, the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries, NOAA (AA) must determine whether the applicant has produced 
sufficient evidence to warrant establishing a Pinniped-Fishery 
Interaction Task Force (Task Force) to address the situation described 
in the application. If the application provides sufficient evidence, 
NMFS must publish a notice in the Federal Register requesting public 
comment on the application, and establish a Task Force consisting of: 
(1) NMFS/NOAA staff; (2) scientists who are knowledgeable about the 
pinniped interaction; (3) representatives of affected conservation and 
fishing community organizations; (4) treaty Indian tribes; (5) the 
States; and (6) such other organizations as NMFS deems appropriate. The 
Task Force must, to the maximum extent practicable, consist of an 
equitable balance among representatives of resource user interests and 
nonuser interests. Meetings of the Task Force must be open to the 
public. Within 60 days after establishment, and after reviewing public 
comments in response to the Federal Register notice, the Task Force is 
to recommend to NMFS approval or denial of the proposed intentional 
lethal taking along with recommendations on the proposed location, 
time, and method of such taking, criteria for evaluating the success of 
the action, and the duration of the intentional lethal taking 
authority. The Task Force must also suggest non-lethal alternatives, if 
available and practicable, including a recommended course of action. 
Within 30 days after receipt of the Task Force's recommendations, NMFS 
must either approve or deny the application. If such application is 
approved, NMFS must immediately take steps to implement the intentional 
lethal taking. The intentional lethal taking is to be performed by 
Federal or state agencies, or qualified individuals under contract to 
such agencies.

Notice of Request

    On July 12, 1994, NMFS received an application, dated June 30, 
1994, from the WDFW, to authorize the intentional lethal taking of 
individually identifiable California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) 
that prey on wild winter-run steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) that 
migrate through the Ballard Locks in Seattle, WA. The WDFW requested 
that the Secretary establish a Task Force and initiate the process 
provided by section 120 of the MMPA so that authorization for lethal 
removal, if approved, is authorized in time for protection of the 1994-
95 winter-run of steelhead that will migrate through the Ballard Locks 
from December 1994 through the end of March 1995.
    The AA has determined that the WDFW's application does provide 
sufficient evidence to warrant establishment of a Task Force. The NMFS 
Northwest Regional Office will take the lead in establishing the Task 
Force and making arrangements for the meetings of the Task Force. These 
meetings will be open to the public.
    The WDFW's application references several studies and documents 
prepared by NMFS and the WDFW which provide scientific information that 
California sea lions are negatively affecting the wild winter-run of 
steelhead migrating through the Ballard Locks through predation and 
obstruction of fish passage. Although other factors may have 
contributed to the decline of this wild steelhead population, extensive 
studies by NMFS and WDFW have documented that predation by California 
sea lions has been a principal factor since 1985 affecting the status 
of this steelhead run. Studies at the Ballard Locks have documented 
that California sea lions have consumed over 50 percent of the adult 
returns in recent years. This winter-run steelhead population has 
declined dramatically in recent years, and NMFS is currently 
undertaking a status review to determine whether this population should 
be proposed for listing under the ESA. Non-lethal means of controlling 
sea lion predation have not been successful in reducing predation and 
allowing increased passage through the Ballard Locks facility. Although 
the sea lion predation problem may involve as many as 40 animals, an 
average of only three to six animals have been responsible for much of 
the predation each year. Wild steelhead spawning escapement into the 
Lake Washington drainage has declined from about 2,500 fish in the mid-
1980's to a 1993-94 spawning escapement of only 70 steelhead. The 
WDFW's application indicates that lethal removal is a short-term 
solution for an emergency situation in preventing extirpation of a wild 
salmonid stock. Their expected immediate benefit of selective lethal 
removal of depredating sea lions at the Ballard Locks will be to 
enhance steelhead escapement levels, thereby enhancing spawning success 
to maintain the stock.

Information Solicited

    Public comments and information on the WDFW's application are 
requested and will be considered by the Task Force and NMFS in 
determining whether lethal removal should be authorized. A copy of the 
WDFW's application is available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). In addition, 
NMFS and the WDFW are making available to the public copies of 
Environmental Assessments (EAs) published in 1989, 1992 and 1994 under 
the National Environmental Policy Act on the situation at Ballard Locks 
(see ADDRESSES). These EAs provide extensive background information on 
the problem and non-lethal efforts to address the problem. NMFS also 
has available limited copies of a recent report prepared for the Marine 
Mammal Commission entitled ``A Description and Assessment of the 
Interaction Between California Sea Lions and Steelhead Trout at the 
Chittenden Locks, Seattle, Washington.''

    Dated: July 27, 1994.
William W. Fox, Jr., Ph.D.,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 94-18703 Filed 8-1-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F