[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 226 (Wednesday, November 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71672-71674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-29656]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XY60
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals
Incidental to Missile Launch Operations From San Nicolas Island, CA
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of a revised Letter of Authorization.
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SUMMARY: In June, 2009, pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA), NMFS issued regulations to govern the unintentional taking of
marine mammals incidental to U.S. Navy (Navy) missile launch
operations, a military readiness activity, from San Nicolas Island
(SNI), California, for the period of June 2009 through June 2014. The
second Letter of Authorization (LOA) for the incidental take of marine
mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes is
effective from June 4, 2010, through June 3, 2011. Following issuance
of the LOA, the Navy submitted a revised monitoring plan for their
activities at SNI. NMFS has issued a revised LOA, which incorporates
the revised monitoring plan, to replace the one that was previously in
effect.
DATES: Effective December 1, 2010, through November 30, 2011.
ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting documentation are available for
review by writing to P. Michael Payne, Chief, Permits, Conservation,
and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 or
by telephoning one of the contacts listed below (FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). Documents cited in this notice may be viewed, by
appointment, during regular business hours, at the aforementioned
address and at the Southwest Regional Office, NMFS, 501 West Ocean
Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Magliocca, Office of
Protected Resources, NMFS, 301-713-2289, or Monica DeAngelis, NMFS,
562-980-3232.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs
the Secretary
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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
regulations are issued. However, for military readiness activities, the
National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 108-136) removed the
``small numbers'' and ``specified geographical region'' limitations.
Under the MMPA, the term ``take'' means to harass, hunt, capture, or
kill, or to attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill marine mammals.
Authorization may be granted for periods up to 5 years if NMFS
finds, after notification and opportunity for public comment, that the
taking will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) of
marine mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses. In
addition, NMFS must prescribe regulations that include permissible
methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable
adverse impact on the species and its habitat and on the availability
of the species for subsistence uses, paying particular attention to
rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar significance. The
regulations must include requirements for monitoring and reporting of
such taking.
Regulations governing the taking of Northern elephant seals
(Mirounga angustirostris), Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina
richardsi), and California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), by
harassment, incidental to missile launch operations at SNI, were issued
on June 2, 2009, and remain in effect until June 2, 2014 (74 FR 26580).
The previous 2010 LOA under these regulations was issued on June 4,
2010 (75 FR 28587). For more detailed information on this action,
please refer to these documents. The regulations and LOA include
mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements for the incidental
take of marine mammals during missile launches at SNI. Northern
elephant seals, Pacific harbor seals, and California sea lions are
found on various haul-out sites and rookeries on SNI. The LOA
authorizes take of the three pinniped species listed above that may
result from the launching of up to 40 missiles from SNI per year. Up to
10 launches per year may occur at night. Nighttime launches will only
occur when required by the test objectives, e.g., when testing the
Airborne Laser system. The noise generated by Navy activities may
result in the incidental harassment of pinnipeds, both behaviorally and
in terms of physiological (auditory) impacts. The noise and visual
disturbances from missile launches may cause the animals to move
towards or enter the water. The LOA authorizes the following numbers of
pinnipeds to be incidentally taken by Level B harassment annually: 474
Northern elephant seals; 467 Pacific harbor seals; and 1,606 California
sea lions.
Summary of the Modification
On June 7, 2010, NMFS received a proposed revised monitoring plan
for vehicle launches at SNI, California, in association with an LOA
issued on June 4, 2010 and in effect through June 3, 2011. The revised
monitoring plan was updated to reflect new equipment and procedures
proposed by the Navy, along with a proposal to discontinue targeted
monitoring of Northern elephant seals. After reviewing the revised
monitoring plan, the Marine Mammal Commission (Commission) further
recommended that the Navy obtain, analyze, and review existing
information regarding potential displacement of Northern elephant
seals, Pacific harbor seals, and California sea lions from those
rookeries and haul out sites affected by launch activities. NMFS marine
mammal surveys from SNI have since been reviewed for any indications of
decreasing trends in pinniped abundance or changes in distribution
since the take of marine mammals incidental to launches from SNI were
authorized beginning in August 2001. The surveys do not indicate any
significant changes in abundance or distribution. The following are the
only modifications to the previous 2010 LOA; all other mitigation and
monitoring requirements remain unchanged.
Nighttime Launches
The Navy recently acquired forward looking infrared (FLIR) HS-324
Command thermal imaging cameras for nighttime monitoring of pinnipeds
before, during, and after each missile launch. Previously, no cameras
were available for nighttime monitoring of pinniped haul out sites. The
thermal imaging cameras, made by FLIR Systems, Inc., will be located to
overlook haul out sites up to 6 hours prior to a launch, depending on
safety restrictions. Placement of the cameras will cause minimal
disturbance to pinnipeds and will focus on a subgroup of pinnipeds
within the haul out aggregation. The cameras record data internally and
are capable of storing more than 5 hours of video; however, they do not
record sound, so no simultaneous audio recording separate from the
acoustic monitoring data, collected as described in the regulations (74
FR 26580) and previous 2010 LOA (75 FR 28587), will be available. Navy
biologists will make direct visual observations of the pinniped groups,
prior to deployment of the thermal imaging cameras, in order to record
weather conditions, species, locations of any pinnipeds hauled out,
etc.
Monitoring of Northern Elephant Seals
The Navy will eliminate targeted monitoring of Northern elephant
seals during all future launches of Vandal- and Coyote-size, and
smaller, vehicles on SNI. During the majority of launches monitored
over the past 9 years, Northern elephant seals exhibited little
reaction to vehicle launches. The Navy's most recent monitoring report
estimated that zero Northern elephant seals were harassed by launches
from SNI. During future launches, Northern elephant seals would only be
monitored if they happen to be alongside other monitored pinniped
species (i.e., Pacific harbor seals and California sea lions) and in
the camera's field of view. Monitoring sites will be chosen based
primarily on the presence of Pacific harbor seals and California sea
lions; however, the same number of sites will continue to be monitored.
By eliminating targeted monitoring of Northern elephant seals, the Navy
will focus on these more responsive pinniped species and remaining
questions about the frequency and extent of these responses. All other
aspects of the Navy's monitoring requirements, as stated in the
regulations (74 FR 26580) and previous 2010 LOA (75 FR 28587), will
remain the same. The Navy will submit a single annual report for the
period June 2010 through November 2011.
Summary of Activity and Monitoring Conducted During 2010
The Navy submitted a preliminary, qualitative review of marine
mammal monitoring activities between June 4, 2010, and September 1,
2010, as part of their proposal for a revised monitoring plan. The
review briefly describes two single launches from SNI on two different
days. These launches occurred during daylight hours. A single Coyote
missile was launched on each of two days, June 9 and July 8, 2010, from
the Alpha Launch Complex located 190 m (623 ft) above sea level on the
west-central part of SNI. For each launch, three remote video cameras
and three or four audio recorders were deployed at varying distances
from the launch site. Trained staff also collected general information
on environmental
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conditions and the status and behavior of focal animal groups prior to
and following each launch. Behavioral responses were similar to those
observed during previously monitored launches. The authorized level of
take was not exceeded, and no evidence of injury or mortality was
observed during or immediately succeeding the launches for the
monitored pinniped species.
Comments and Responses
A request for public comment on the revised monitoring plan and
proposed authorization was published on September 24, 2010 (75 FR
58365), at the recommendation of the Commission. During the 30-day
public comment period, NMFS received comments from the Commission and
one private citizen. The comment from the private citizen opposed the
issuance of an authorization without any specific substantiation for
why such an authorization should not be issued. For the reasons set
forth in this notice and the associated rulemaking (74 FR 26580, June
2, 2009), NMFS believes issuance of an authorization is appropriate.
Following are the comments from the Commission and NMFS' responses:
Comment 1: The Commission recommends that NMFS initiate such a
rulemaking or provide adequate justification to support a determination
that rulemaking is not required to amend section 216.155 of the
regulations to authorize the Navy to discontinue monitoring the
potential effects of launches on Northern elephant seals.
Response: NMFS has determined that a rulemaking is not required to
amend section 216.155 of the regulations to authorize the Navy to
discontinue monitoring the potential effects of launches on Northern
elephant seals. Part (b) of this section states that ``The National
Marine Fisheries Service must be informed immediately of any changes or
deletions to any portions of the proposed monitoring plan submitted, in
accordance with the Letter of Authorization.'' The Navy made NMFS aware
of such changes. Furthermore, the regulatory text does not require
monitoring of all species present at SNI. The visual land-based and
acoustic monitoring requirements in 50 CFR 216.155 state that three
haul-out sites will be observed using autonomous digital video cameras
and acoustic equipment; this requirement remains in effect under the
revised LOA. Visual land-based monitoring will actually be enhanced
under this LOA through the use of FLIR thermal imaging cameras during
nighttime launches.
Comment 2: The Commission recommends that NMFS clarify the intent
of 50 CFR 216.158(a)(1) of its regulations and explain why it does not
believe that the Navy should be held to the commitment that there would
be no substantial modifications to the monitoring program to be carried
out during the 12 months covered by the previous 2010 LOA.
Response: NMFS has determined that the Navy's modifications to
their monitoring program for launch activities at SNI are not
substantial. The Navy will continue to report on the same number of
monitoring locations as have been authorized in previous LOAs. The Navy
will no longer target Northern elephant seals; however, this species
may still be observed if it overlaps with other pinnipeds at the
designated monitoring locations. This implementation of adaptive
management will allow the Navy to focus their monitoring and research
on other more responsive pinniped species at SNI.
Comment 3: The Commission recommends that NMFS provide the
Commission and the public with the information necessary to evaluate
the conclusion that there has been no displacement of pinnipeds from
rookeries and haul-out sites in the areas potentially affected by
launch activities.
Response: Based on unpublished NMFS survey data from 2000 to 2005,
there has been an overall 107 percent increase in Northern elephant
seal pups in locations directly within or adjacent to the Navy's
anticipated launch azimuths. The area with the highest increase of non-
pups between 2000 and 2005 also took place in locations directly within
or adjacent to the Navy's anticipated launch azimuths. In contrast,
other areas of SNI's perimeter show an overall decrease in both
Northern elephant seal pups and non-pups, with the greatest observed
change being a decrease of 1,616 Northern elephant seals near the
southeast region of the island.
Comment 4: The Commission recommends that NMFS develop and
implement a monitoring strategy designed to determine whether there are
gaps in the available information for assessing possible long-term
effects and, if so, to what extent the cumulative effects of repeated
launch activities might be displacing pinnipeds.
Response: NMFS has determined that the Navy's current monitoring
strategy is sufficient to determine if there are any long-term effects
to pinnipeds from launch activities at SNI. NMFS biologists have been
monitoring pinnipeds on SNI since 2000 and will continue to do so under
this LOA.
Authorization
The Navy complied with the requirements of the previous 2010 LOA
and NMFS has determined that there was no evidence of pinniped injuries
or fatalities related to the June and July 2010 vehicle launches from
SNI. The Navy's activities fell within the scope of the activities
analyzed in the 2009 rule, and the observed take did not exceed that
authorized in the previous 2010 LOA. NMFS has determined that this
action would continue to have a negligible impact on the affected
species or stocks of marine mammals on SNI, and there are no
subsistence uses of these three pinniped species in California waters.
Accordingly, NMFS has issued a revised LOA to the Navy authorizing the
take of three marine mammal species, by harassment, incidental to
missile launch activities from SNI. The revised LOA will expire one
year from the date of issuance and the Navy has agreed to operate under
their annual authorized take numbers for the extended period of June
2010 through November 2011.
Dated: November 18, 2010.
James H. Lecky,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-29656 Filed 11-23-10; 8:45 am]
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