Notice2023-03274
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the U.S. Navy Training Activities in the Gulf of Alaska Study Area
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
February 16, 2023
Effective
February 3, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to the U.S. Navy (Navy) for the take of marine mammals incidental to military readiness activities conducted in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Study Area.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 32 (Thursday, February 16, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 32 (Thursday, February 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10094-10095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03274]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC703;
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to the U.S. Navy Training Activities in the Gulf of Alaska
Study Area
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of issuance of Letter 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 a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to the U.S. Navy
(Navy) for the take of marine mammals incidental to military
[[Page 10095]]
readiness activities conducted in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Study Area.
DATES: Effective from February 3, 2023 to February 2, 2030.
ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting documentation are available online
at: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-military-readiness-activities">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-take-authorizations-military-readiness-activities</a>. In case
of problems accessing these documents, please call the contact listed
below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leah Davis, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The MMPA prohibits the ``take'' of marine mammals, with certain
exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA 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 proposed or, if the taking
is limited to harassment, the public is provided with notice of the
proposed incidental take authorization and provided the opportunity to
review and submit comments.
An authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS
finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or
stocks and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stocks for taking for subsistence uses
(where relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods
of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse
impact on the affected species or stocks and their habitat, paying
particular attention to rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar
significance, and on the availability of such species or stocks for
taking for certain subsistence uses (referred to in this rule as
``mitigation measures''); and requirements pertaining to the monitoring
and reporting of such takings. The MMPA defines ``take'' to mean to
harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or
kill any marine mammal.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2004
(2004 NDAA) (Pub. L. 108-136) amended section 101(a)(5) of the MMPA to
remove the ``small numbers'' and ``specified geographical region''
provisions indicated above and amended the definition of ``harassment''
as applied to a ``military readiness activity.'' The definition of
harassment for military readiness activities (Section 3(18)(B) of the
MMPA) is (i) Any act that injures or has the significant potential to
injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild (Level A
Harassment); or (ii) Any act that disturbs or is likely to disturb a
marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption
of natural behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to,
migration, surfacing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering, to a
point where such behavioral patterns are abandoned or significantly
altered (Level B harassment). In addition, the 2004 NDAA amended the
MMPA as it relates to military readiness activities such that the least
practicable adverse impact analysis shall include consideration of
personnel safety, practicality of implementation, and impact on the
effectiveness of the military readiness activity.
More recently, Section 316 of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2019 (2019
NDAA) (Pub. L. 115-232), signed on August 13, 2018, amended the MMPA to
allow incidental take rules for military readiness activities under
section 101(a)(5)(A) to be issued for up to 7 years. Prior to this
amendment, all incidental take rules under section 101(a)(5)(A) were
limited to 5 years.
Summary of Request
On January 4, 2023, we issued a final rule responding to a request
from the Navy for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to
military readiness activities conducted in the GOA Study Area (88 FR
604, January 4, 2023). The following types of training, which are
classified as military readiness activities pursuant to the MMPA, as
amended by the 2004 NDAA, are covered under the final rule: surface
warfare (detonations at or above the water surface) and anti-submarine
warfare (sonar and other transducers). The Navy is also conducting Air
Warfare, Electronic Warfare, Naval Special Warfare, Strike Warfare, and
Support Operations, but these activities do not involve sonar and other
transducers, detonations at or above the water surface, or any other
stressors that could result in the take of marine mammals.
Authorization
In accordance with the final rule, we have issued a LOA to Navy
authorizing the take of marine mammals incidental to training
activities in the GOA Study Area, as described above. Take of marine
mammals will be minimized through the implementation of the following
planned mitigation measures: (1) use of defined powerdown and shutdown
zones (based on activity), which are designed to minimize the number
and severity of takes; (2) measures to reduce the likelihood of ship
strikes, including the use of trained Lookouts to observe for marine
mammals in designated zones on underway vessels and issuance of pre-
event awareness messages to alert vessels and aircraft participating in
training activities within the TMAA to the possible presence of
concentrations of large whales on the continental shelf and slope; and
(3) operational limitations in certain areas and times that are
biologically important (i.e., for foraging) for marine mammals.
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 Navy will submit
reports as required.
Based on the findings and information discussed in the preamble to
the final rule, the activities described under this LOA 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: February 13, 2023.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-03274 Filed 2-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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