[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 100 (Thursday, May 23, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30894-30896]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12343]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XC640
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; U.S. Navy Training in the
Gulf of Alaska Temporary Maritime Activities Area
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of issuance of a Letter of Authorization.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as
amended, and implementing regulations, notice is hereby given that NMFS
has issued a 3-year 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 Gulf of Alaska Temporary Maritime
Activities Area (GOA TMAA). 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).
[[Page 30895]]
DATES: This Authorization is effective from May 16, 2013, through May
4, 2016.
ADDRESSES: An electronic copy of 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: Brian D. Hopper, 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 GOA TMAA became
effective on May 4, 2011 (76 FR 25505), and remain in effect through
May 4, 2016. 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. On February 1, 2012, NMFS
amended the regulations for 12 Navy Range Complexes, including GOA
TMAA, to allow for multi-year LOAs (77 FR 4917).
Summary of Request
On December 15, 2012, NMFS received a request from the Navy for an
LOA for the taking of marine mammals incidental to training activities
conducted within the GOA TMAA under regulations issued on May 4, 2011
(76 FR 25505). The Navy has complied with the measures required in 50
CFR 218.124 and 218.125, as well as the LOA issued on May 17, 2011, and
submitted the reports and other documentation required in the final
rule and the 2011 LOA.
Summary of Activity Under the 2011 LOA
As described in the Navy's exercise reports (both classified and
unclassified), from May 2011 to October 2012, the training activities
conducted by the Navy were within the scope and amounts indicated in
the 2011 LOA and the levels of take remain within the scope and amounts
contemplated by the final rule.
Planned Activities and Estimated Take for 2013 Through 2016
Between 2013 and 2016, the Navy expects to conduct the same type
and amount of training identified in the 2011 LOA; however, the Navy
does not plan to conduct any Sinking Exercises (SINKEXs). While the
Navy requested the same amount of take that was authorized in the 2011
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.
Summary of Monitoring, Reporting, and Other Requirements Under the 2011
LOA Annual Exercise Reports
The Navy submitted their classified and unclassified 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 2011 LOA. The reports indicate the amounts
of different types of training that occurred from May 2011, to October
2012. The Navy conducted zero SINKEXs and all other exercise types
conducted (classified data) fell within the amount indicated in the
LOA.
2011-2012 Monitoring
The Navy conducted the monitoring required by the 2011 LOA and
described in the Monitoring Plan, which included passive acoustic
monitoring utilizing high-frequency acoustic recording packages
(HARPs). The Navy submitted their Monitoring Reports, which are 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 GOA TMAA for the past year consisted of the
following:
Passive Acoustic Monitoring
Two high-frequency acoustic monitoring packages (HARP) have been
deployed by Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) within the GOA
TMAA. Both HARPs were bottom-deployed in July 2011. One is located on
the shelf (203 m) and the other is located on the slope (900 m) of the
north central Gulf of Alaska. Both HARPs were field serviced in early
May 2012. In addition to these two HARPs, in September 2012, a third
HARP was deployed to obtain passive acoustic data along the side of the
Pratt Seamount (930 m). Over 5,756 hours of passive acoustic data have
been recorded. Subsequent analysis confirmed detection of the following
marine mammals: blue whale, fin whale, gray whale, humpback whale, six
toothed whale species, and sounds dominated by shipping noise.
Vessel-Based Survey
In the summer of 2013, a Navy-funded visual line transect survey
will be conducted in the offshore waters of the Gulf of Alaska (GOALS
2013). The primary objectives for GOALS 2013 are to acquire baseline
data to increase understanding of the likely occurrence (i.e.,
presence, abundance, distribution and/or density of species) of beaked
whales and other ESA-listed marine mammals in the Gulf of Alaska.
Other Monitoring Activities
Pacific Northwest Cetacean Tagging
An ongoing Navy-funded effort in the Pacific Northwest will attach
long-term satellite tracking tags to migrating gray whales off the
coasts of Oregon and northern California. This study is being conducted
by the University of Oregon and may also include tagging of resident
gray whales or other large whales species such as humpback and fin
whales, if encountered. Although this effort is not directly affiliated
with the GOA TMAA monitoring program, depending on when these tags are
attached, gray whale movement patterns along the Pacific Coast and
through the Gulf of Alaska may be tracked. Results from this effort
will be summarized and referenced in next year's 2013 GOA TMAA annual
Monitoring Report if animals are found to be passing through or
adjacent to the GOA TMAA.
In conclusion, the Navy successfully implemented the monitoring
requirements for the GOA TMAA by the end of the second monitoring
period. Over the next three years, the Navy will continue to maintain
the HARPs that are currently in the water, while analyzing and
presenting results from previously recorded data. Furthermore, the Navy
will continue to report tagging results from the Pacific Northwest
Cetacean Tagging study.
New Studies
Recent Navy applications, Draft Environmental Impact Statements,
and
[[Page 30896]]
proposed MMPA regulations for testing and training activities contain
proposed acoustic criteria and thresholds that would, if adopted,
represent changes from the criteria and thresholds currently employed
by NMFS in incidental take authorizations and associated biological
opinions for Navy military readiness activities. The revised thresholds
are based on evaluations of recent scientific studies (see Finneran et
al. (2010), Finneran and Schlundt (2010), and Tyack et al. (2011)).
The proposed new criteria and thresholds based on the Finneran and
Tyack studies have recently been made available for public comment,
(AFTT: 78 FR 7050, January 31, 2013; and HSTT: 78 FR 6978, January 31,
2013), and the public comments are still being evaluated. Until that
process is complete, it is not appropriate to apply the new criteria
and thresholds in any take authorization or associated biological
opinion.
Adaptive Management
The Navy's adaptive management of the GOA TMAA monitoring program
involves close coordination with NMFS to align marine mammal monitoring
with the overall objectives of the monitoring plan. Monitoring under
the 2011 LOA only represents the two years of a planned five-year
effort. At this point, it would be premature to draw detailed
conclusions or initiate comprehensive monitoring changes because the
analysis of monitoring and other data is not complete. In addition, at
the annual adaptive management meeting, NMFS and the Navy took into
consideration, among other things, the study by Tyack et al. (2011)
evaluating the documented responses of marine mammals to sonar to
determine if it warranted additional mitigation or monitoring for
beaked whales. During their October 2011 meeting, NMFS and the Navy
determined that the study by Tyack et al. (2011) did not provide a
basis for prescribing any additional mitigation or monitoring for
beaked whales. The study itself makes no recommendations regarding
potential additional mitigation or monitoring, and NMFS, the Navy, and
the Marine Mammal Commission did not think that the new information
included in the study lent itself to the incorporation of new
mitigation measures.
Authorization
The Navy complied with the requirements of the 2011 LOA. Based on
our review of the record, NMFS has determined that the marine mammal
take resulting from the 2011 military readiness training and research
activities falls within the levels previously anticipated, analyzed,
and authorized. Further, the level of taking authorized from 2013 to
2016 for the Navy's GOA TMAA activities is consistent with our previous
findings made for the total taking allowed under the GOA TMAA
regulations. Finally, the record supports NMFS' conclusion that the
total number of marine mammals taken by the 2013 to 2016 activities in
the GOA TMAA will have no more than a negligible impact on the affected
species or stocks 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 GOA TMAA from
May 16, 2013, through May 4, 2016.
Dated: May 20, 2013.
Helen M. Golde,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-12343 Filed 5-22-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P