[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 214 (Thursday, November 5, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68512-68513]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28221]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE268


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Southwest Fisheries Science Center Fisheries Research

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

ACTION: Notice of issuance of Letters of Authorization.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as 
amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given 
that Letters of Authorization (LOA) have been issued to the NMFS 
Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) for the take of marine 
mammals incidental to fisheries research conducted in multiple 
specified geographical regions.

DATES: Effective from October 30, 2015, through October 29, 2020.

ADDRESSES: The LOAs and supporting documentation are available on the 
Internet at: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental/research.htm. In 
case of problems accessing these documents, please call the contact 
listed above (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) 
direct the Secretary of Commerce to allow, upon request, the 
incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine 
mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than 
commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region if certain 
findings are made and either regulations are issued or, if the taking 
is limited to harassment, a notice of a proposed authorization is 
provided to the public for review.
    An authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS 
finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or 
stock(s), will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses (where 
relevant), and if the permissible methods of taking and requirements 
pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of such takings 
are set forth. NMFS has defined ``negligible impact'' in 50 CFR 216.103 
as ``an impact resulting from the specified activity that cannot be 
reasonably expected to, and is not reasonably likely to, adversely 
affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates of 
recruitment or survival.''
    Except with respect to certain activities not pertinent here, the 
MMPA defines ``harassment'' as: Any act of pursuit, torment, or 
annoyance which (i) has the potential to injure a marine mammal or 
marine mammal stock in the wild [Level A harassment]; or (ii) has the 
potential to disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild 
by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not 
limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or 
sheltering [Level B harassment].

Summary of Request

    On April 25, 2013, we received an adequate and complete request 
from SWFSC for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to 
fisheries research activities. On February 13, 2015 (80 FR 8166), we 
published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register, 
requesting comments and information related to the SWFSC request for 
thirty days. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on 
September 30, 2015 (80 FR 58982). For detailed information on this 
action, please refer to those documents. The regulations include 
mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements for the incidental 
take of marine mammals during fisheries research activities in three 
separate specified geographic regions.
    SWFSC conducts fisheries research using pelagic trawl gear used at 
various levels in the water column, pelagic longlines with multiple 
hooks, bottom-contact trawls, and other gear. If a marine mammal 
interacts with gear deployed by SWFSC, the outcome could potentially be 
Level A harassment, serious injury (i.e., any injury that will likely 
result in mortality), or mortality. We pooled the estimated number of 
incidents of take resulting from gear interactions and assessed the 
potential impacts accordingly. SWFSC also uses various active acoustic 
devices in the conduct of fisheries research, and use of

[[Page 68513]]

these devices has the potential to result in Level B harassment of 
marine mammals. Level B harassment of pinnipeds hauled out on ice may 
also occur, in the Antarctic only, as a result of visual disturbance 
from vessels conducting SWFSC research.
    The SWFSC conducts fisheries research surveys in the California 
Current Ecosystem (CCE), the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), and the 
Antarctic Marine Living Resources Ecosystem (AMLR). As required by the 
MMPA, SWFSC's request was considered separately for each specified 
geographical region, and three separate LOAs have been issued. In the 
CCE, SWFSC is authorized to take individuals of seventeen species by 
Level A harassment, serious injury, or mortality (M/SI + Level A) and 
of 34 species by Level B harassment. In the ETP, SWFSC is authorized to 
take individuals of eleven species by M/SI + Level A and of 31 species 
by Level B harassment. In the AMLR, SWFSC is authorized to take 
individuals of seventeen species by Level B harassment. No takes by M/
SI + Level A are anticipated in the AMLR.

Authorization

    We have issued LOAs to SWFSC authorizing the take of marine mammals 
incidental to fishery research activities, as described above. Take of 
marine mammals will be minimized through implementation of the 
following mitigation measures: (1) Implementation of a ``move-on'' rule 
in certain circumstances that is expected to reduce the potential for 
physical interaction with marine mammals; (2) use of a marine mammal 
excluder device in certain trawl nets; and (3) use of acoustic 
deterrent devices on certain trawl nets. Additionally, the rule 
includes an adaptive management component that allows for timely 
modification of mitigation or monitoring measures based on new 
information, when appropriate. The SWFSC will submit reports as 
required.
    Based on these findings and the information discussed in the 
preamble to the final rule, the activities described under these LOAs 
will have a negligible impact on marine mammal stocks and will not have 
an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the affected 
marine mammal stock for subsistence uses.

    Dated: November 2, 2015.
Perry F. Gayaldo,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-28221 Filed 11-4-15; 8:45 am]
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