Notice2025-18163
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Geophysical Surveys Related to Oil and Gas Activities in the Gulf of America (Formerly Gulf of Mexico)
Primary source
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Published
September 19, 2025
Effective
September 16, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, its implementing regulations, and NMFS' MMPA regulations for taking marine mammals incidental to geophysical surveys related to oil and gas activities in the Gulf of America, originally published as "Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Geophysical Surveys Related to Oil and Gas Activities in the Gulf of Mexico," notification is hereby given that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (Anadarko) for the take of marine mammals incidental to geophysical survey activity in the Gulf of America (GOA).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 180 (Friday, September 19, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 180 (Friday, September 19, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45193-45195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-18163]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE803]
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Geophysical Surveys Related to Oil and Gas Activities in
the Gulf of America (Formerly Gulf of Mexico)
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of letter of authorization.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as
amended, its implementing regulations, and NMFS' MMPA regulations for
taking marine mammals incidental to geophysical surveys related to oil
and gas activities in the Gulf of America, originally published as
``Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Geophysical Surveys Related to
Oil and Gas Activities in the Gulf of Mexico,'' notification is hereby
given that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to Anadarko
Petroleum Corporation (Anadarko) for the take of marine mammals
incidental to geophysical survey activity in the Gulf of America (GOA).
DATES: The LOA is effective from September 16, 2025 through April 19,
2026.
ADDRESSES: The LOA, LOA request, and supporting documentation are
available online at: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-oil-and-gas-industry-geophysical-survey-activity-gulf-mexico">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-oil-and-gas-industry-geophysical-survey-activity-gulf-mexico</a>. In case of problems accessing these documents, please call
the contact listed below (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jenna Harlacher, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 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).
On January 19, 2021, we issued a final rule with regulations to
govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to
geophysical survey activities conducted by oil and gas industry
operators, and those persons authorized to conduct activities on their
behalf (collectively ``industry operators''), in U.S. waters of the
Gulf of America (GOA) \1\ over the course of 5 years (86 FR 5322,
January 19, 2021). The rule was based on our findings that the total
taking from the specified activities over the 5-year period will have a
negligible impact on the affected species or stock(s) of marine mammals
and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of
those species or stocks for subsistence uses, and became effective on
April 19, 2021.
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\1\ Pursuant to Executive Order 14172, ``Restoring Names That
Honor American Greatness,'' and Department of the Interior
Secretarial Order 3423, ``The Gulf of America,'' the body of water
formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico is now called the Gulf of
America. Accordingly, NMFS amended the incidental take regulations
to reflect the change. See 90 FR 38001 (August 7, 2025).
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The regulations at 50 CFR 217.180 et seq. allow for the issuance of
LOAs to industry operators for the incidental take of marine mammals
during geophysical survey activities and
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prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of
effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species
or stocks and their habitat (often referred to as mitigation), as well
as requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such
taking. Under 50 CFR 217.186(e), issuance of an LOA shall be based on a
determination that the level of taking will be consistent with the
findings made for the total taking allowable under these regulations
and a determination that the amount of take authorized under the LOA is
of no more than small numbers.
NMFS subsequently discovered that the 2021 rule was based on
erroneous take estimates. We conducted another rulemaking using correct
take estimates and other newly available and pertinent information
relevant to the analyses supporting some of the findings in the 2021
final rule and the taking allowable under the regulations. We issued a
final rule in April 2024, effective May 24, 2024 (89 FR 31488, April
24, 2024).
The 2024 final rule made no changes to the specified activities or
the specified geographical region in which those activities would be
conducted, nor to the original 5-year period of effectiveness. In
consideration of the new information, the 2024 rule presented new
analyses supporting affirmance of the negligible impact determinations
for all species, and affirmed that the existing regulations, which
contain mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements, are
consistent with the ``least practicable adverse impact'' standard of
the MMPA.
Summary of Request and Analysis
Anadarko plans to conduct a four-dimensional (4D) ocean bottom node
(OBN) survey over 82 lease blocks in the vicinity of the Horn Mountain
Spar in the Mississippi Canyon area, with water depths ranging from
approximately 800 to 2,260 meters (m). See section F of the LOA
application for a map of the area. Anadarko anticipates using a 28-
element, 5,110 cubic inch (in\3\) (0.084 cubic meter) airgun array.
Please see the LOA application for additional detail.
Consistent with the preamble to the final rule, the survey effort
proposed by Anadarko in its LOA request was used to develop LOA-
specific take estimates based on the acoustic exposure modeling results
described in the preamble (89 FR 31488, April 24, 2024). In order to
generate the appropriate take number for authorization, the following
information was considered: (1) survey type; (2) location (by modeling
zone; ) \2\ (3) number of days; (4) source; and (5) month.\3\ To
determine the most appropriate proxy array from the exposure modeling,
the directionally dependent source level in a plane parallel to the sea
surface was compared to the three airgun array sources which were
originally modeled, including the 4130, 5110, and 8000 in\3\ arrays.
Out of these three proxies, the source which had the smallest relative
error (arithmetic mean difference taken over the azimuthal or vessel
bearing angle) was chosen as the most representative proxy. In this
case, the 5110 in\3\ had the lowest mean error (0.9 dB) and was the
airgun array proxy that was selected. The acoustic exposure modeling
performed in support of the rule provides 24-hour exposure estimates
for each species, specific to each modeled source and survey type in
each zone and month.
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\2\ For purposes of acoustic exposure modeling, the GOA was
divided into seven zones. Zone 1 is not included in the geographic
scope of the rule.
\3\ Acoustic propagation modeling was performed for two seasons:
Winter (December-March) and Summer (April-November). Marine mammal
density data is generally available on a monthly basis, and
therefore further refines take estimates temporally.
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No 4D OBN surveys were included in the modeled survey types, and
use of existing proxies (i.e., two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional
(3D) narrow-azimuth (NAZ), 3D wide-azimuth (WAZ), Coil) is generally
conservative for use in evaluation of 4D OBN survey efforts, largely
due to the greater area covered by the modeled proxies. Summary
descriptions of these modeled survey geometries are available in the
preamble to the proposed rule (83 FR 29212, 29220, June 22, 2018). Coil
was selected as the best available proxy survey type in this case
because the spatial coverage of the planned survey is most similar to
the coil survey pattern. The planned OBN survey will involve two source
vessels sailing along closely spaced survey lines, with daily survey
area coverage of approximately 15 kilometers squared (km\2\) per day,
most similar to that assumed for the coil survey proxy. Among the
different parameters of the modeled survey patterns (e.g., area
covered, line spacing, number of sources, shot interval, total
simulated pulses), NMFS considers area covered per day to be most
influential on daily modeled exposures exceeding Level B harassment
criteria. Although Anadarko is not proposing to perform a survey using
the coil geometry, the coil proxy is most representative of the effort
planned by Anadarko in terms of predicted Level B harassment exposures.
The survey will take place over approximately 80 days with 45 days
of sound source operation in Zone 5. The monthly distribution of survey
days is not known in advance, though we assume that the planned 45 days
of source operation would occur contiguously. Take estimates for each
species are based on the time period that produces the greatest value.
For the Rice's whale, take estimates based on the modeling yielded
results that are not realistically likely to occur when considered in
light of other relevant information concerning Rice's whale habitat
preferences considered during the rulemaking process. NMFS' 2024 final
rule provided detailed discussion regarding Rice's whale habitat (see,
e.g., 89 FR 31508, 31519, April 24, 2024). In summary, recent survey
data, sightings, and acoustic data support Rice's whale occurrence in
waters throughout the GOA between approximately 100 m and 400 m depth
along the continental shelf break, and associated habitat-based density
modeling has identified similar habitat (i.e., approximately 100 to 400
m water depths along the continental shelf break) as being Rice's whale
habitat (Garrison et al., 2023; Soldevilla et al., 2022, 2024).
Although Rice's whales may occur outside of the general depth range
expected to provide suitable habitat, we expect that any such
occurrence would be rare. Anadarko's planned activities will occur in
water depths of approximately 800-2,260 m in the central GOA. Thus,
NMFS does not expect there to be reasonable potential for take of
Rice's whale in association with this survey and, accordingly, does not
authorize take of Rice's whale through the LOA.
Based on the results of our analysis, NMFS has determined that the
level of taking expected for this survey and authorized through the LOA
is consistent with the findings made for the total taking allowable
under the regulations. See table 1 in this notice and table 6 of the
rule (89 FR 31488, April 24, 2024).
Small Numbers Determination
Under the rule, NMFS may not authorize incidental take of marine
mammals in an LOA if it will exceed ``small numbers.'' In short, when
an acceptable estimate of the individual marine mammals taken is
available, if the estimated number of individual animals taken is up
to, but not greater than, one-third of the best available abundance
estimate, NMFS will
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determine that the numbers of marine mammals taken of a species or
stock are small (see 89 FR 31535, May 24, 2024). For more information,
please see NMFS' discussion of small numbers in the 2021 final rule (86
FR 5438, January 19, 2021).
The take numbers for authorization are determined as described
above in the Summary of Request and Analysis section. Subsequently, the
total incidents of harassment for each species are multiplied by scalar
ratios (except in the cases where the take estimate has been rounded up
to reflect a group size) to produce a derived product that better
reflects the number of individuals likely to be taken within a survey
(as compared to the total number of instances of take), accounting for
the likelihood that some individual marine mammals may be taken on more
than 1 day (see 86 FR 5404, January 19, 2021). The output of this
scaling, where appropriate, is incorporated into adjusted total take
estimates that are the basis for NMFS' small numbers determinations, as
depicted in table 1.
This product is used by NMFS in making the necessary small numbers
determinations through comparison with the best available abundance
estimates (see discussion at 86 FR 5391, January 19, 2021). For this
comparison, NMFS' approach is to use the maximum theoretical
population, determined through review of current stock assessment
reports (SAR; <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-stock-assessments">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-stock-assessments</a>) and model-predicted
abundance information (<a href="https://seamap.env.duke.edu/models/Duke/GOM/">https://seamap.env.duke.edu/models/Duke/GOM/</a>).
Information supporting the small numbers determinations is provided in
table 1.
Table 1--Take Analysis
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Authorized Percent
Species take Scaled take \1\ Abundance \2\ abundance
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Rice's whale......................................... 0 n/a 51 n/a
Sperm whale.......................................... 348 147 2,451 6.0
Kogia spp............................................ \3\ 131 40 1,385 3.4
Beaked whales........................................ 1,424 144 1,038 13.9
Rough-toothed dolphin................................ 1,049 301 4,853 6.2
Bottlenose dolphin................................... 1,034 297 166,538 0.2
Clymene dolphin...................................... 655 188 6,136 3.1
Atlantic spotted dolphin............................. 336 97 21,506 0.4
Pantropical spotted dolphin.......................... 8,520 2445 50,209 4.9
Spinner dolphin...................................... \4\ 152 n/a 2,991 5.1
Striped dolphin...................................... 1,860 534 16,102 3.3
Fraser's dolphin..................................... 384 110 1,665 6.6
Risso's dolphin...................................... 262 77 1,974 3.9
Blackfish \5\........................................ 2,260 667 9,535 7.0
Short-finned pilot whale............................. 448 132 3,277 4.0
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\1\ Scalar ratios were applied to ``Authorized Take'' values as described at 86 FR 5322, 5404 (January 19, 2021)
to derive scaled take numbers shown here.
\2\ Best abundance estimate. For most taxa, the best abundance estimate for purposes of comparison with take
estimates is considered here to be the model-predicted abundance (Garrison et al., 2023). For Rice's whale,
Atlantic spotted dolphin, spinner dolphin, and Risso's dolphin, the estimated SAR abundance estimate is used.
\3\ Includes 7 takes by Level A harassment and 124 takes by Level B harassment. Scalar ratio is applied to takes
by Level B harassment only; small numbers determination is made on the basis of scaled Level B harassment take
plus authorized Level A harassment take.
\4\ Modeled take of 145 increased to account for potential encounter with a group of average size (Maze-Foley
and Mullin, 2006)
\5\ The ``blackfish'' guild includes melon-headed whales, false killer whales, pygmy killer whales, and killer
whales.
Based on the analysis contained herein of Anadarko's proposed
survey activity described in its LOA application and the anticipated
take of marine mammals, NMFS finds that small numbers of marine mammals
will be taken relative to the affected species or stock sizes (i.e.,
less than one-third of the best available abundance estimate) and
therefore the taking is of no more than small numbers.
Authorization
NMFS has determined that the level of taking for this LOA request
is consistent with the findings made for the total taking allowable
under the incidental take regulations and that the amount of take
authorized under the LOA is of no more than small numbers. Accordingly,
we have issued an LOA to Anadarko authorizing the take of marine
mammals incidental to its geophysical survey activity, as described
above.
Dated: September 16, 2025.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-18163 Filed 9-18-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 19, 2025.
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