Notice2022-05225
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Fisheries and Ecosystem Monitoring and Research Activities
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 11, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS has received a request from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), on behalf of the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP), for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to conducting fisheries and ecosystem monitoring and research activities within the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary, CA, over the course of five years. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of CDFW's request for the development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals. NMFS invites the public to provide information, suggestions, and comments on CDFW's application and request.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 48 (Friday, March 11, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 48 (Friday, March 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13983-13984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05225]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XB879]
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Fisheries and Ecosystem Monitoring and Research
Activities
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for letter of authorization;
request for comments and information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request from the California Department of
Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), on behalf of the Interagency Ecological
Program (IEP), for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to
conducting fisheries and ecosystem monitoring and research activities
within the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary, CA, over the course of five
years. Pursuant to regulations implementing the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is announcing receipt of CDFW's request for
the development and implementation of regulations governing the
incidental taking of marine mammals. NMFS invites the public to provide
information, suggestions, and comments on CDFW's application and
request.
DATES: Comments and information must be received no later than April
11, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the application should be addressed to Jolie
Harrison, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service and should be sent to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2a637e7a04664b5d596a44454b4b044d455c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1b524f4b35577a6c685b75747a7a357c746d">[email protected]</span></a>.
Instructions: NMFS is not responsible for comments sent by any
other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the
end of the comment period. Comments received electronically, including
all attachments, must not exceed a 25-megabyte file size. All comments
received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted
online at <a href="http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-construction-activities">www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-construction-activities</a> without change.
All personal identifying information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben Laws, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability
Electronic copies of CDFW's application and separate monitoring
plan may be obtained online at: <a href="http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-research-and-other-activities">www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-research-and-other-activities</a>. In case of problems accessing these documents, please call
the contact listed above.
[[Page 13984]]
Background
Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.)
direct the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated to NMFS) 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.
The MMPA states that the term ``take'' means to harass, hunt,
capture, kill or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine
mammal.
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 February 11, 2022, NMFS received an adequate and complete
application from CDFW requesting authorization for take of marine
mammals incidental to IEP monitoring and research activities in the San
Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary, California. The requested regulations
would be valid for 5 years. The proposed action includes the use of
fishing research gear (e.g., nets, trawls, setlines, and fykes) that
may result in marine mammal interactions resulting in Level A
harassment, serious injury or mortality. Therefore, CDFW requests
authorization to incidentally take marine mammals.
Specified Activities
The IEP consists of multiple State and Federal agencies operating
in the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The IEP has
been conducting cooperative ecological investigations since the 1970s.
IEP agencies partner with non-governmental organizations that work
together to develop a better understanding of the Bay-Delta estuary's
fish and wildlife, water quality, hydrodynamics and impacts of human
activities on ecology. IEP's key studies specifically address the
effects of the State Water Project and Federal Central Valley Project
water project operations on the Delta and San Francisco Estuary. Many
of the surveys monitor abundance and distribution of fish so to reduce
entrainment risk at the water project export facilities in the south
Delta.
IEP fish monitoring studies include use of various gears including
midwater, otter, and Kodiak trawls (trawls), gill and trammel nets,
purse seines and Lampara nets (nets), setlines and longlines
(setlines), and hoop and fyke traps (fykes) that could result in
incidental take via entanglement by net mesh, entrapment by fyke, or
hooking by setlines. IEP studies also use a variety of other gears,
such as backpack or boat mounted electrofishers, larval fish trawl
nets, zooplankton nets, water samplers and instrumentation (acoustic
receivers, water quality sondes, etc.) that are not expected to result
in take of marine mammals.
Information Solicited
Interested persons may submit information, suggestions, and
comments concerning CDFW's request (see ADDRESSES). NMFS will consider
all information, suggestions, and comments related to the request
during the development of proposed regulations governing the incidental
taking of marine mammals by CDFW, if appropriate.
Dated: March 8, 2022.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-05225 Filed 3-10-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 11, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.