[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 5, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5256-5258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2727]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 100101A]


Marine Mammals; Pinniped Removal Authority

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

ACTION: Notice of extension of letter of authorization.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces a 5-year extension to the Letter of 
Authorization

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(LOA) to the State of Washington for the lethal removal of individually 
identifiable California sea lions that are having significant negative 
impact on the status and recovery of winter steelhead that migrate 
through the Ballard Locks in Seattle, WA. This action is authorized 
under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).

ADDRESSES: A copy of the LOA may be obtained by writing to Assistant 
Regional Administrator, Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 525 N.E. 
Oregon St., Suite 500, Portland, OR 97232-2737, or to Chief, Marine 
Mammal Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West 
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Garth Griffin (503) 231-2005, or Tom 
Eagle (301) 713-2322, ext. 105.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    Information related to this extension, including the state's LOA 
extension request, Environmental Assessments (EA), and all of the 
Federal Register notices related to issuance, modification and 
subsequent extension of the original LOA, is available via the Internet 
at the following address: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov.

Background

    Pursuant to Section 120 of the MMPA, NMFS initially issued a 3-year 
Letter of Authorization (LOA) that was valid through June 30, 1997, to 
the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for the lethal 
removal of California sea lions that are having significant negative 
impact on the status and recovery of winter steelhead that migrate 
through the Ballard Locks in Seattle, WA. The terms and conditions of 
the LOA were modified following the first year of implementation. The 
LOA was subsequently extended, for 4 years, through June 30, 2001.
    Background information on the sea lion/steelhead conflict at the 
Ballard Locks and findings on the environmental consequences of 
issuance of the original LOA, the 1996 modification of its terms and 
conditions, and this extension are provided in two EAs prepared by NMFS 
in 1995 and 1996 and an updated EA prepared in 2001 (see Electronic 
Access).
    On September 12, 2001, the State of Washington requested that NMFS 
extend the LOA for an additional 5 years (with a new expiration date of 
June 30, 2006) citing severely depressed steelhead run returns and the 
need for continued authorization to quickly remove any sea lion, if 
necessary, that meets the criteria outlined in the LOA while the state 
continues management efforts to recover the run. In addition, the state 
noted that there are no lethal removals planned at this time and 
requested the authorization be extended so that, as a last resort, it 
can respond in a timely manner to uncontrollable sea lion predation and 
protect steelhead as the run recovers. The state requested no 
modifications to the terms and conditions of the LOA other than the 
extension to June 30, 2006.
    NMFS published a notice (66 FR 53210, October 19, 2001) that 
announced the state's request, proposed to extend the LOA, and 
solicited public comment on the proposed extension. The public comment 
period closed on November 19, 2001. No comments were received from the 
public.
    NMFS also solicited comment from members of the Pinniped-Fishery 
Interaction Task Force (Task Force) that had been convened upon receipt 
of the original application from the State of Washington, regarding the 
proposed extension. Five written comments were received from Task Force 
members. Four of the Task Force members supported the extension and one 
member was opposed. None of the comments contained substantive new 
information.
    Comments supporting the extension were in general agreement that 
the steelhead run is severely depressed and that the state must be 
authorized to respond to predatory animals swiftly. One member noted 
that further extension of the LOA is justified because neither of the 
1996 Task Force criteria for determining the success or failure of the 
authorization had been met.
    The comment against the extension also agreed that the status of 
the steelhead run is precarious but opposed the extension based on the 
view that sea lion predation is not having a significant negative 
impact on the status and recovery of the steelhead run. Further, the 
opposing comment questioned whether the non-lethal measures taken to 
date to reduce sea lion predation on steelhead have been adequate to 
meet the threshold for issuance of a lethal removal authorization under 
Section 120 of the MMPA. This opposing view was raised during Task 
Force deliberations from 1994 to 1996 and considered by NMFS in 
issuance and modification of the LOA, and NMFS concluded that any sea 
lion predation was, and any future predation would be, a significant 
adverse impact on the steelhead run and that all feasible non-lethal 
deterrents had been attempted.
    NMFS considered the comments received from the Task Force members 
while conducting its review of the environmental consequences of the 
proposed extension and when making its decision to extend the LOA. The 
available information documents that steelhead spawning escapements 
have remained far below the goal set for the watershed and declined to 
record lows in 2000 and 2001 indicating a worsening condition that 
could lead to stock failure. In contrast, the California sea lion 
population is robust and continuing to grow coastwide. In the index 
areas of Puget Sound sea lion numbers were lower in 2001 than the peak 
years of 1986 and 1995 but have remained relatively consistent in 
Shilshole Bay near the entrance to the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Sea 
lions continue to forage occasionally at the Locks and have been seen 
taking salmonids there in spite of non-lethal deterrence measures that 
are ongoing. The precarious state of the steelhead population and the 
continuing presence of sea lions in the area heightens the concern that 
sea lions may enter the Locks area to forage during the steelhead run 
and threaten stock recovery.
    One unidentified sea lion was observed taking a salmonid downstream 
of the railroad bridge during the 2000 steelhead run. Sea lions were 
recently observed in the Locks area during the 2001 coho salmon run, 
and one marked sea lion was observed taking coho salmon in the 
ensonified zone in September 2001. This raises concerns over the 
possibility that one of these sea lions may occur during the 2002 
steelhead run, and it may have already developed a tolerance to the 
acoustic devices.
    Sea lion presence at the Ballard Locks declined from 5.18 percent 
of hours observed in 1997 to 0.25 percent of hours observed in 2000. No 
sea lions were seen during approximately 274 hours of observations 
conducted from February through May, 2001 (WDFW unpublished data). The 
observation period overlapped with the smolt out-migration timing in 
May. The absence of sea lions in May is in contrast to the 1995 
migration season when sea lion attendance at the Locks was highest 
during the smolt out-migration, and predatory sea lions were observed 
preying on smolt in the ensonified zone 50-60 percent of the time they 
were present at the Ballard Locks.
    An estimated eight steelhead were lost to sea lion predation in 
1997, based on observations by biologists monitoring the steelhead run, 
and two in 1998. From 1999 through 2001, any steelhead

[[Page 5258]]

kills that were seen or reported occurred outside of the observation 
periods and, therefore, could not be used to estimate sea lion 
predation mortality for those years.

NMFS Action

    Section 120 of the MMPA lists 4 factors that NMFS must consider in 
evaluating an application for approval or denial. These factors are as 
follows:
    1. Population trends, feeding habits, the location of the pinniped 
interaction, how and when the interactions occurs, and how many 
individual pinnipeds are involved;
    2. Past efforts to nonlethally deter such pinnipeds, and whether 
the applicant has demonstrated that no feasible and prudent 
alternatives exist and that the applicant has taken all reasonable 
nonlethal steps without success;
    3. The extent to which such pinnipeds are causing undue injury or 
impact to, or imbalance with, other species in the ecosystem, including 
fish populations; and
    4. The extent to which such pinnipeds are exhibiting behavior that 
presents an ongoing threat to public safety.
    NMFS considered these factors in the initial application and the 
modification to the initial LOA and a detailed description of these 
considerations was included in the 1995 and 1996 EAs. The 2001 EA 
briefly discusses relevant new information in these considerations and 
concludes that LOA should be extended because there is no substantial 
change in the system since the initial evaluation. The range-wide 
pinniped population has increased although the seasonal distribution of 
animals in Puget Sound has decreased. Steelhead numbers have continued 
to decline, and any predation continues to have a significant adverse 
impact on the run. Based on these considerations, the state's request, 
the available information on the critically depressed steelhead run, 
the continued presence of sea lions in the Lake Washington Ship Canal 
and Locks area, and consideration of comments from Task Force members 
(no public comments were received), NMFS has extended the LOA for 5 
years to June 30, 2006. No other changes were made to the terms and 
conditions of the LOA. As required by the National Environmental Policy 
Act, NMFS has prepared an EA of the environmental consequences of 
extending the existing LOA. A copy of the LOA and accompanying EA is 
available via the Internet (see Electronic Access).

    Dated: January 30, 2002.
David Cottingham,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources National Marine 
Fisheries Service
[FR Doc. 02-2727 Filed 2-4-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S