Taking and Importing Marine Mammals: Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Navy's Training Activities at the Gulf of Mexico Range Complex, 17033-17034 [2012-7041]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 57 / Friday, March 23, 2012 / Notices Committee’s Species Working Groups; and other matters relating to the international management of ICCAT species. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE The open sessions of the Committee meeting will be held on May 1, 2012, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and May 2, 2012, 9 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Closed sessions will be held on May 1, 2012, 3:15 p.m. to 6 p.m., and on May 2, 2012, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. RIN 0648–XB030 DATES: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Taking and Importing Marine Mammals: Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Navy’s Training Activities at the Gulf of Mexico Range Complex The meeting will be held at the Hilton Hotel, 8727 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20910. The phone number is (301) 589–5200. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice; issuance of a Letter of Authorization. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: SUMMARY: ADDRESSES: Rachel O’Malley at (301) 427–8373. The Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to ICCAT will meet in open session to receive and discuss information on the 2011 ICCAT meeting results and U.S. implementation of ICCAT decisions; NMFS research and monitoring activities; global and domestic initiatives related to ICCAT; the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act-required consultation on any identification of countries that are diminishing the effectiveness of ICCAT; the results of the meetings of the Committee’s Species Working Groups; and other matters relating to the international management of ICCAT species. The public will have access to the open sessions of the meeting, but there will be no opportunity for public comment. The Committee will meet in its Species Working Groups for part of the afternoon of May 1, 2012, and for one hour on the morning of May 2, 2012. These sessions are not open to the public, but the results of the species working group discussions will be reported to the full Advisory Committee during the Committee’s open session on May 2, 2012. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Special Accommodations The meeting location is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Rachel O’Malley at (301) 427–8373 at least 5 days prior to the meeting date. Dated: March 20, 2012. Rebecca J. Lent, Director, Office of International Affairs, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2012–7064 Filed 3–22–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:14 Mar 22, 2012 Jkt 226001 AGENCY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued a two-year Letter of Authorization (LOA) to the U.S. Navy (Navy) to take marine mammals by harassment incidental to its training activities at the Gulf of Mexico (GOMEX) Range Complex. DATES: Effective from March 18, 2012, through March 17, 2014. ADDRESSES: Copies of the Navy’s November 2, 2011, LOA application, and the LOA are available by writing to P. Michael Payne, Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, by telephoning the contact listed here (See FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT), or online at: https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/ permits/incidental.htm#applications. Documents cited in this notice may be viewed, by appointment, during regular business hours, at the aforementioned address. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Guan, 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 the Secretary of Commerce to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional taking of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a military readiness activity if certain findings are made and regulations are issued. Authorization may be granted for periods of 5 years or less if NMFS finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s), 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 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 17033 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 also must include requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking. Regulations governing the taking of marine mammals incidental to the U.S. Navy’s training activities at the GOMEX Range Complex were published on February 17, 2011 (76 FR 9250), and remain in effect through February 17, 2016. They are codified at 50 CFR part 218 subpart D. These regulations include mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements for the incidental taking of marine mammals by the Navy’s training activities. For detailed information on these actions, please refer to the February 17, 2011, Federal Register notice and 50 CFR part 218 subpart D. On February 1, 2012, NMFS published a final rule (77 FR 4917) that allows for the issuance of multi-year LOAs, as long as the regulations governing such LOAs are valid. Summary of LOA Request NMFS received an application from the U.S. Navy for an LOA covering the Navy’s training activities at the GOMEX Range Complex in the Gulf of Mexico under the regulations issued on February 17, 2011 (76 FR 9250). The application requested authorization, for a period of two years, to take, by harassment, marine mammals incidental to proposed training activities that involve underwater explosive detonation. Summary of Activity Under the 2011 LOA Between March 2011 and January 2012, there were no training events conducted in the GOMEX Range Complex. Planned Activities for 2012 Through 2014 In 2012 through March 2014, the Navy expects to conduct the same type and amount of training activities identified in the final rules and 2011 LOA. No modification is proposed by the Navy for its planned 2012—2014 activities under the 2011 rule. Estimated Take for 2012–2014 The estimated takes for the Navy’s proposed training activities are the same as those authorized in 2011. No change E:\FR\FM\23MRN1.SGM 23MRN1 17034 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 57 / Friday, March 23, 2012 / Notices has been made in the estimated takes from the 2011 LOA. Summary of Monitoring, Reporting, and Other Requirements Under the 2009 LOA In the 2011 LOA and regulations, the Navy is required to submit annual Range Complex monitoring and exercise reports by March 1, covering through January 1 of the same year. However, NMFS realized that the LOA for the GOMEX Range Complex training activities expires on March 17. To allow adequate time to review these reports for the issuance of future LOA renewal and rulemakings, the due date of these reports is changed to November 1, covering the period through August 1 of the pervious year. Annual Range Complex Exercise Report The Navy submitted their 2011 annual Range Complex training activities reports covering the period from the dates when Range Complex LOAs became effective through January 2012, and the reports are posted on NMFS Web site: https:// www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/ incidental.htm#applications. In the case of GOMEX Range Complex, the Navy reported that there were no training events during the reporting period between March 2011 and January 2012. srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Monitoring and Annual Monitoring Reports The Navy submitted the Range Complex marine species monitoring reports within the required timeframes and they are posted on NMFS Web site: https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/ incidental.htm#applications. Since there were no training events conducted between March 2011 and January 2012 at the GOMEX Range Complex, no monitoring opportunities were available during that period. Adaptive Management In general, adaptive management allows NMFS to consider new information from different sources to determine (with input from the Navy regarding practicability) if monitoring efforts should be modified if new information suggests that such modifications are appropriate. All of the 5-year rules and LOAs issued to the Navy include an adaptive management component, which includes an annual meeting between NMFS and the Navy. NMFS and the Navy conducted an adaptive management meeting in October, 2011, which representatives from the Marine Mammal Commission participated in, wherein we reviewed the Navy monitoring results through VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:14 Mar 22, 2012 Jkt 226001 August 1, 2011, discussed other Navy research and development efforts, and discussed other new information that could potentially inform decisions regarding Navy mitigation and monitoring. No changes were proposed for the 2012 monitoring plan for the Navy’s GOMEX Range Complex training activities. 2011 Monitoring Meeting The regulations that established the framework for authorizing the taking of marine mammals incidental to Navy RDT&E activities required the Navy, with guidance and support from NMFS, to convene a Monitoring Workshop in 2011 (50 CFR 218.184(i)). The Marine Mammal Monitoring Workshop, which included scientists, representatives from non-governmental organization, and Marine Mammal Commission staff, took place in June 2011. Pursuant to the regulations, this workshop presented a consolidated overview of monitoring activities conducted in 2010, as well as the outcomes of selected monitoringrelated research. In 2010, the Navy convened a Scientific Advisory Group (SAG), comprised of experts in the fields of marine mammals and underwater acoustics, to review the Navy’s current monitoring plans and make recommendations. The results of the SAG’s review were also presented at the meeting. Participants engaged in open discussion of the lessons learned, and discussed how to improve the Navy’s monitoring plan moving forward. If changes to monitoring approaches are identified during future workshops that can be implemented during the annual LOA renewal process and subsequent 5-year regulations, the Navy and NMFS will modify the Navywide monitoring plan and propose appropriate changes to the monitoring measures in specific LOAs for the different Range Complexes and study areas. For Range Complexes or study areas with substantive monitoring modifications, NMFS will subsequently publish proposed LOAs, with the modifications, in the Federal Register and solicit public input. After addressing public comments and making changes as appropriate, NMFS will issue new training area LOAs that reflect the new Navy-wide monitoring plan. Authorization Since there are no changes in the Navy’s proposed training activities at the GOMEX Range Complex, NMFS’ determination that the Navy’s GOMEX Range Complex training activities will have no more than a negligible impact on the affected species or stocks of PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 marine mammals in the action area, as described in the original regulations, is still valid. There is no subsistence use of marine mammals that could potentially be impacted by the Navy’s training activities at GOMEX Range Complex. Further, the level of taking authorized in 2012 through March 2014 for the Navy’s GOMEX Range Complex training activities is consistent with our previous findings made for the total taking allowed under the GOMEX Range Complex regulations. Accordingly, NMFS has issued a two-year LOA for Navy’s training activities conducted at the GOMEX Range Complex from March 18, 2012, through March 17, 2014. Dated: March 4, 2012. Helen M. Golde, Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2012–7041 Filed 3–22–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED Procurement List; Addition Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled. ACTION: Addition to the Procurement List. AGENCY: This action adds a service to the Procurement List that will be provided by a nonprofit agency employing persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities. DATES: Effective Date: 4/23/2012. ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, Jefferson Plaza 2, Suite 10800, 1421 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia, 22202–3259. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry S. Lineback, Telephone: (703) 603–7740, Fax: (703) 603–0655, or email CMTEFedReg@AbilityOne.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SUMMARY: Addition On 1/13/2012 (77 FR 2048), the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notice of proposed addition to the Procurement List. After consideration of the material presented to it concerning capability of the qualified nonprofit agency to provide the service and impact of the addition on the current or most recent contractors, the Committee has determined that the service listed below is suitable for procurement by the E:\FR\FM\23MRN1.SGM 23MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 57 (Friday, March 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17033-17034]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7041]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB030


Taking and Importing Marine Mammals: Taking Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Navy's Training Activities at the Gulf of Mexico Range 
Complex

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of a Letter of Authorization.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as 
amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given 
that NMFS has issued a two-year Letter of Authorization (LOA) to the 
U.S. Navy (Navy) to take marine mammals by harassment incidental to its 
training activities at the Gulf of Mexico (GOMEX) Range Complex.

DATES: Effective from March 18, 2012, through March 17, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Navy's November 2, 2011, LOA application, and 
the LOA are available by writing to P. Michael Payne, Chief, Permits 
and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National 
Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 
20910, by telephoning the contact listed here (See FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT), or online at: https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm#applications. Documents cited in this notice may 
be viewed, by appointment, during regular business hours, at the 
aforementioned address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Guan, 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 
the Secretary of Commerce to allow, upon request, the incidental, but 
not intentional taking of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in 
a military readiness activity if certain findings are made and 
regulations are issued.
    Authorization may be granted for periods of 5 years or less if NMFS 
finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or 
stock(s), 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 also must include requirements pertaining to the monitoring 
and reporting of such taking.
    Regulations governing the taking of marine mammals incidental to 
the U.S. Navy's training activities at the GOMEX Range Complex were 
published on February 17, 2011 (76 FR 9250), and remain in effect 
through February 17, 2016. They are codified at 50 CFR part 218 subpart 
D. These regulations include mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 
requirements for the incidental taking of marine mammals by the Navy's 
training activities. For detailed information on these actions, please 
refer to the February 17, 2011, Federal Register notice and 50 CFR part 
218 subpart D. On February 1, 2012, NMFS published a final rule (77 FR 
4917) that allows for the issuance of multi-year LOAs, as long as the 
regulations governing such LOAs are valid.

Summary of LOA Request

    NMFS received an application from the U.S. Navy for an LOA covering 
the Navy's training activities at the GOMEX Range Complex in the Gulf 
of Mexico under the regulations issued on February 17, 2011 (76 FR 
9250). The application requested authorization, for a period of two 
years, to take, by harassment, marine mammals incidental to proposed 
training activities that involve underwater explosive detonation.

Summary of Activity Under the 2011 LOA

    Between March 2011 and January 2012, there were no training events 
conducted in the GOMEX Range Complex.

Planned Activities for 2012 Through 2014

    In 2012 through March 2014, the Navy expects to conduct the same 
type and amount of training activities identified in the final rules 
and 2011 LOA. No modification is proposed by the Navy for its planned 
2012--2014 activities under the 2011 rule.

Estimated Take for 2012-2014

    The estimated takes for the Navy's proposed training activities are 
the same as those authorized in 2011. No change

[[Page 17034]]

has been made in the estimated takes from the 2011 LOA.

Summary of Monitoring, Reporting, and Other Requirements Under the 2009 
LOA

    In the 2011 LOA and regulations, the Navy is required to submit 
annual Range Complex monitoring and exercise reports by March 1, 
covering through January 1 of the same year. However, NMFS realized 
that the LOA for the GOMEX Range Complex training activities expires on 
March 17. To allow adequate time to review these reports for the 
issuance of future LOA renewal and rulemakings, the due date of these 
reports is changed to November 1, covering the period through August 1 
of the pervious year.

Annual Range Complex Exercise Report

    The Navy submitted their 2011 annual Range Complex training 
activities reports covering the period from the dates when Range 
Complex LOAs became effective through January 2012, and the reports are 
posted on NMFS Web site: https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm#applications. In the case of GOMEX Range Complex, the 
Navy reported that there were no training events during the reporting 
period between March 2011 and January 2012.

Monitoring and Annual Monitoring Reports

    The Navy submitted the Range Complex marine species monitoring 
reports within the required timeframes and they are posted on NMFS Web 
site: https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/incidental.htm#applications. 
Since there were no training events conducted between March 2011 and 
January 2012 at the GOMEX Range Complex, no monitoring opportunities 
were available during that period.

Adaptive Management

    In general, adaptive management allows NMFS to consider new 
information from different sources to determine (with input from the 
Navy regarding practicability) if monitoring efforts should be modified 
if new information suggests that such modifications are appropriate. 
All of the 5-year rules and LOAs issued to the Navy include an adaptive 
management component, which includes an annual meeting between NMFS and 
the Navy. NMFS and the Navy conducted an adaptive management meeting in 
October, 2011, which representatives from the Marine Mammal Commission 
participated in, wherein we reviewed the Navy monitoring results 
through August 1, 2011, discussed other Navy research and development 
efforts, and discussed other new information that could potentially 
inform decisions regarding Navy mitigation and monitoring. No changes 
were proposed for the 2012 monitoring plan for the Navy's GOMEX Range 
Complex training activities.

2011 Monitoring Meeting

    The regulations that established the framework for authorizing the 
taking of marine mammals incidental to Navy RDT&E activities required 
the Navy, with guidance and support from NMFS, to convene a Monitoring 
Workshop in 2011 (50 CFR 218.184(i)). The Marine Mammal Monitoring 
Workshop, which included scientists, representatives from non-
governmental organization, and Marine Mammal Commission staff, took 
place in June 2011. Pursuant to the regulations, this workshop 
presented a consolidated overview of monitoring activities conducted in 
2010, as well as the outcomes of selected monitoring-related research. 
In 2010, the Navy convened a Scientific Advisory Group (SAG), comprised 
of experts in the fields of marine mammals and underwater acoustics, to 
review the Navy's current monitoring plans and make recommendations. 
The results of the SAG's review were also presented at the meeting. 
Participants engaged in open discussion of the lessons learned, and 
discussed how to improve the Navy's monitoring plan moving forward. If 
changes to monitoring approaches are identified during future workshops 
that can be implemented during the annual LOA renewal process and 
subsequent 5-year regulations, the Navy and NMFS will modify the Navy-
wide monitoring plan and propose appropriate changes to the monitoring 
measures in specific LOAs for the different Range Complexes and study 
areas. For Range Complexes or study areas with substantive monitoring 
modifications, NMFS will subsequently publish proposed LOAs, with the 
modifications, in the Federal Register and solicit public input. After 
addressing public comments and making changes as appropriate, NMFS will 
issue new training area LOAs that reflect the new Navy-wide monitoring 
plan.

Authorization

    Since there are no changes in the Navy's proposed training 
activities at the GOMEX Range Complex, NMFS' determination that the 
Navy's GOMEX Range Complex training activities will have no more than a 
negligible impact on the affected species or stocks of marine mammals 
in the action area, as described in the original regulations, is still 
valid. There is no subsistence use of marine mammals that could 
potentially be impacted by the Navy's training activities at GOMEX 
Range Complex. Further, the level of taking authorized in 2012 through 
March 2014 for the Navy's GOMEX Range Complex training activities is 
consistent with our previous findings made for the total taking allowed 
under the GOMEX Range Complex regulations. Accordingly, NMFS has issued 
a two-year LOA for Navy's training activities conducted at the GOMEX 
Range Complex from March 18, 2012, through March 17, 2014.

    Dated: March 4, 2012.
Helen M. Golde,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-7041 Filed 3-22-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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