[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 28 (Thursday, February 10, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7548-7549]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2980]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XA149
Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals
Incidental to Conducting Precision Strike Weapons Testing and Training
by Eglin Air Force Base in the Gulf of Mexico
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of issuance of a Letter of Authorization.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection
Act (MMPA), as amended, notification is hereby given that a Letter of
Authorization (LOA) to take four species of marine mammals incidental
to testing and training during Precision Strike Weapons (PSW) testing
and training in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), a military readiness
activity, has been issued to Eglin Air Force Base (AFB).
DATES: This authorization is effective from April 1, 2011, through
December 27, 2011.
ADDRESSES: The application and LOA are available for review in the
Permits, Conservation, and Education Division, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or by
contacting the individuals listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Magliocca, NMFS, 301-713-
2289.
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, 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 by NMFS and
regulations are issued. Under the MMPA, the term ``taking'' means to
harass, hunt, capture, or kill or to attempt to harass, hunt, capture
or kill marine mammals. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2004
(Pub. L. 108-136) removed the ``small numbers'' and ``specified
geographical region'' limitations and amended the definition of
``harassment'' as it applies to a ``military readiness activity'' to
read as follows (Section 3(18)(B) of the MMPA):
(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].
Authorization, in the form of annual LOAs, may be granted for
periods of 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 (where relevant). 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 pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such
taking. Regulations governing the taking of marine mammals incidental
to PSW testing and training within the Eglin Gulf Test and Training
Range (EGTTR) in the GOM were published on November 24, 2006 (71 FR
67810), and remain in effect from December 26, 2006, through December
27, 2011. The
[[Page 7549]]
species that Eglin AFB may take during PSW testing and training are
Atlantic bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) and Atlantic spotted dolphins
(Stenella frontalis) and dwarf (Kogia simus) and pygmy (Kogia
breviceps) sperm whales.
Issuance of the annual LOA to Eglin AFB is based on findings made
in the preamble to the final rule that the total takings by this
project would result in no more than a negligible impact on the
affected marine mammal stocks or habitats and would not have an
unmitigable adverse impact on subsistence uses of marine mammals. NMFS
also finds that the applicant will meet the requirements contained in
the implementing regulations and LOA, including monitoring and
reporting requirements. Without any mitigation measures, a small
possibility exists for one bottlenose dolphin and one spotted dolphin
to be exposed to blast levels from the PSW testing sufficient to cause
mortality. Additionally, less than two cetaceans might be exposed to
noise levels sufficient to induce Level A harassment (injury) annually,
and as few as 31 or as many as 53 cetaceans (depending on the season
and water depth) could potentially be exposed (annually) to noise
levels sufficient to induce Level B harassment in the form of a
temporary loss of hearing sensitivity (also referred to as a temporary
threshold shift).
While none of these impact estimates consider the proposed
mitigation measures that will be employed by Eglin AFB to minimize
potential impacts to protected species, NMFS has authorized Eglin AFB a
total of one mortality, two takes by Level A harassment, and 53 takes
by Level B harassment (TTS) annually. However, the proposed mitigation
measures described in the final rule (71 FR 67810, November 24, 2006)
and the LOA are anticipated to both reduce the number of marine mammal
takes and lessen the severity of the effects of the takes. These
measures include a conservative safety range for marine mammal
exclusion; incorporation of aerial and shipboard survey monitoring
efforts in the program both prior to and after detonation of
explosives; and a prohibition on detonations whenever marine mammals
are detected within the safety zone, may enter the safety zone at the
time of detonation, or if weather and sea conditions preclude adequate
aerial surveillance.
Summary of Request
On December 16, 2010, NMFS received a request for an LOA renewal
pursuant to the aforementioned regulations that would authorize, for a
period not to exceed 1 year, take of marine mammals, by harassment,
incidental to PSW testing and training in the GOM.
Summary of Activity and Monitoring Conducted During 2010
No PSW tests were conducted during calendar year 2010 and there are
no planned activities between now and March 31, 2011, at which time the
current LOA expires.
Authorization
The U.S. Air Force complied with the requirements of the 2010 LOA,
and NMFS has determined that there was no take of marine mammals by the
U.S. Air Force in 2010. Accordingly, NMFS has issued a LOA to Eglin AFB
authorizing the take of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to
PSW testing and training in the EGTTR in the GOM. Issuance of this LOA
is based on findings described in the preamble to the final rule (71 FR
67810, November 24, 2006) and supported by information contained in
Eglin's December 2010 request for a new LOA that the activities
described under this LOA will not result in more than the incidental
harassment of certain marine mammal species and will have a negligible
impact on the affected species or stocks. The provision requiring that
the activities not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the affected species or stock for subsistence uses does
not apply for this action.
Dated: February 4, 2011.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-2980 Filed 2-9-11; 8:45 am]
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