[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 2, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18529-18530]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07367]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB094


Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; 
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Sturgeon Research in the Gulf of 
Mexico

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

ACTION: Notice; withdrawal of a request for incidental take 
authorization.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(FWS) has withdrawn its request for authorization to take small numbers 
of marine mammals incidental to conducting sturgeon research in the 
Gulf of Mexico (GOM), over the course of five years from the date of 
issuance.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 27, 2012, we received a complete 
application from FWS requesting authorization for take of four species 
of marine mammal incidental to sturgeon research conducted by and in 
collaboration with FWS in the GOM. On April 10, 2012 (77 FR 21539), we 
published a Notice of Receipt of that request in the Federal Register, 
inviting information, suggestions, and comments

[[Page 18530]]

on FWS's application and request. We did not receive any comments in 
response to the notice.
    Two bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were incidentally 
killed on April 12, 2011, in gillnets deployed during sturgeon research 
conducted for the Natural Resources Damage Assessment of the Deepwater 
Horizon oil spill. As a result, FWS determined that this and other 
similar research had the potential to incidentally take additional 
marine mammals via entanglement in gillnets, resulting in injury, 
serious injury, or mortality. Therefore, FWS determined that a request 
for incidental take authorization was warranted, and requested 
authorization to take bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins 
(Stenella frontalis), pantropical spotted dolphins (S. attenuata), and 
striped dolphins (S. coeruleoalba) by injury, serious injury, or 
mortality.
    On April 15 and July 8, 2011, respectively, NMFS' Southeast 
Regional Office (SERO) provided FWS with marine mammal mitigation 
measures for spring sampling and marine mammal conservation measures 
and recommendations for summer and fall sampling. These measures were 
designed to prevent additional incidents of take incidental to sturgeon 
research, and FWS agreed to adhere to these measures. Subsequently, 
NMFS' Office of Protected Resources determined, in consultation with 
SERO, that implementation of the measures as described would mitigate 
the risk of incidental capture of marine mammals in sturgeon sampling 
gear to discountable levels. Therefore, we determined that an 
incidental take authorization was no longer warranted. On February 14, 
2014, FWS submitted a withdrawal of their previous request for 
incidental take authorization, reiterating their commitment to working 
closely with NMFS and other partners on sturgeon research in the GOM 
while implementing the mitigation measures as described by SERO. No 
further incidents of incidental capture have occurred since FWS began 
implementing the prescribed measures.

    Dated: March 28, 2014.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-07367 Filed 4-2-14; 8:45 am]
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