[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70974-70975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29614]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-AW91


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; U.S. Navy Training in the 
Northwest Training Range Complex

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

ACTION: Notice of issuance of a Letter of Authorization.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as 
amended, and implementing regulations, notice is hereby given that NMFS 
has issued a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to the U.S. Navy (Navy) to 
take marine mammals incidental to Navy training and research activities 
to be conducted within the Northwest Training Range Complex (NWTRC), 
off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and northern California. These 
activities are considered military readiness activities pursuant to the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended by the National Defense 
Authorization Act of 2004 (NDAA).

DATES: This Authorization is effective from November 12, 2011, through 
November 11, 2012.

ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting documentation may be obtained by 
writing to P. Michael Payne, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 
East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or by telephoning one of 
the contacts listed here.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Magliocca, Office of 
Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs 
NMFS to allow, upon request, the incidental taking of marine mammals by 
U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial 
fishing), if certain findings are made by NMFS and regulations are 
issued. Under the MMPA, the term ``take'' means to harass, hunt, 
capture, or kill or to attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill marine 
mammals.
    Regulations governing the taking of marine mammals by the Navy 
incidental to training and research activities in the NWTRC became 
effective on November 10, 2010 (75 FR 69296), and remain in effect 
through November 9, 2015. For detailed information on this action, 
please refer to that document. These regulations include mitigation, 
monitoring, and reporting requirements and establish a framework to 
authorize incidental take through the issuance of LOAs.

Summary of Request

    On June 27, 2011, NMFS received a request from the Navy for a 
renewal of an LOA issued on November 12, 2010, for the taking of marine 
mammals incidental to training and research activities conducted within 
the NWTRC under regulations issued on November 10, 2010 (75 FR 69296). 
The Navy has complied with the measures required in 50 CFR 216.274 and 
216.275, as well as the associated 2010 LOA, and submitted the reports 
and other documentation required in the final rule and the 2010 LOA.

Summary of Activity Under the 2010 LOA

    As described in the Navy's exercise reports (both classified and 
unclassified), from November 12, 2010 to May 1, 2011, the training 
activities conducted by the Navy were within the scope and amounts 
indicated in the 2010 LOA and the levels of take remain within the 
scope and amounts contemplated by the final rule.

Planned Activities and Estimated Take for 2011

    In 2011, the Navy expects to conduct the same type and amount of 
training identified in the 2010 LOA. While the Navy requested the same 
amount of take that was authorized in the 2010 LOA, NMFS has slightly 
adjusted those numbers to account for the exposure analysis contained 
in the Biological Opinion. However, the authorized take remains within 
the annual estimates analyzed in the final rule.

[[Page 70975]]

Summary of Monitoring, Reporting, and other Requirements Under the 2010 
LOA Annual Exercise Reports

    The Navy submitted their classified and unclassified 2010 exercise 
reports within the required timeframes and the unclassified report is 
posted on NMFS Web site: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm. NMFS has reviewed both reports and they contain the 
information required by the 2010 LOA. The reports indicate the amounts 
of different types of training that occurred from November 12, 2010, to 
May 1, 2011. The Navy conducted zero Sinking Exercises (SINKEX) and all 
other exercise types conducted (classified data) fell within the amount 
indicated in the LOA.

2010 Monitoring

    The Navy conducted the monitoring required by the 2010 LOA and 
described in the Monitoring Plan, which included passive acoustic 
monitoring utilizing high-frequency acoustic recording packages (HARPs) 
and marine mammal tagging and tracking. The Navy submitted their 2010 
Monitoring Report, which is posted on NMFS' Web site (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm), within the required 
timeframe. Because data is gathered through May 1 and the report is due 
in July, some of the data analysis will occur in the subsequent year's 
report. Navy-funded marine mammal monitoring accomplishments within 
NWTRC for the past year consisted of the following:

Passive Acoustic Monitoring

    Two high-frequency acoustic monitoring packages (HARP) were 
deployed by Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) within the NWTRC. 
The first HARP was deployed in January 2011 approximately 25 nm from 
the coast in the southern part of NOAA's Olympic Coast National Marine 
Sanctuary. SIO has had HARPs in the same approximate location 
periodically since 2004. A second HARP was deployed in May 2011 near 
the edge of an underwater canyon west of the Olympic Coast National 
Marine Sanctuary boundary. Vocalization data from these HARPs is 
currently undergoing analysis by SIO and results will be presented in 
next year's Monitoring Report.

Tagging

    The Navy purchased a total of 10 satellite tracking tags suitable 
for deployment on a number of marine mammal species within the NWTRC. 
Field deployment for tagging marine mammals should occur before the end 
of summer 2011 and will result in a three-year joint project between 
the Navy, NMFS, Cascadia Research Collective, Washington Department of 
Fish and Wildlife, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
    In conclusion, the Navy successfully implemented the monitoring 
requirements for the NWTRC by the end of the first monitoring period. 
Over the next year, the Navy will continue to maintain the two HARPs 
that are currently in the water, while analyzing and presenting results 
from previously recorded data. Furthermore, the Navy will continue the 
joint tagging study of marine species within the NWTRC.

Adaptive Management

    The Navy's adaptive management of the NWTRC monitoring program 
involves close coordination with NMFS to align marine mammal monitoring 
with the overall objectives of the monitoring plan. Monitoring under 
the 2010 LOA only represents the beginning of the first year of a 
planned five-year effort. Therefore, it would be premature to draw 
detailed conclusions or initiate comprehensive monitoring changes 
before more monitoring and data analysis is complete.

Authorization

    The Navy complied with the requirements of the 2010 LOA. Based on 
our review of the record, NMFS has determined that the marine mammal 
take resulting from the 2010 military readiness training and research 
activities falls within the levels previously anticipated, analyzed, 
and authorized. Further, the level of taking authorized in 2011 for the 
Navy's NWTRC activities is consistent with our previous findings made 
for the total taking allowed under the NWTRC regulations. Finally, the 
record supports NMFS' conclusion that the total number of marine 
mammals taken by the 2010 activities in the NWTRC will have no more 
than a negligible impact on the affected species or stock of marine 
mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of these species or stocks for taking for subsistence 
uses. Accordingly, NMFS has issued an LOA for Navy training and 
research activities conducted in the NWTRC from November 12, 2011, 
through November 11, 2012.

    Dated: November 9, 2011.
James H. Lecky,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-29614 Filed 11-15-11; 8:45 am]
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