Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Pile Driving for the Long Beach Cruise Terminal Improvement Project, 4158-4161 [2023-01245]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 15 / Tuesday, January 24, 2023 / Notices
Multi-Year Overfishing Status
Determination Criteria: Apply multiyear overfishing status determination
criteria to determine if a stock is
undergoing overfishing. When an
assessment is conducted, NMFS would
use a completed stock assessment to
determine overfishing status, and
outside of an assessment year, NMFS
may compare a three-year rolling
average of catch to the overfishing limit
to determine the overfishing status.
NMFS published a Notice of
Availability for draft Amendment 14 on
September 24, 2020 (85 FR 60132). The
comment period closed on December
31, 2020, and NMFS received 10 written
comments. NMFS presented
information on draft Amendment 14 at
three public webinars and the HMS
Advisory Panel meeting in December
2020. Additional oral comments were
collected at the Gulf of Mexico and
South Atlantic Fishery Management
Council meetings in November and
December 2020, respectively.
In response to commenters’ requests
for more information, NMFS published
a supplement to draft Amendment 14 on
January 24, 2022 (87 FR 3504). The
comment period closed on March 10,
2022, and details were presented at one
public webinar and at the HMS
Advisory Panel meeting in February
2022. Eight written comments were
received during the public comment
period.
All of the comments received on draft
Amendment 14 to the 2006
Consolidated HMS FMP and the
supplemental document and responses
to those comments can be found in final
Amendment 14 to the 2006
Consolidated HMS FMP, at https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/
amendment-14-2006-consolidated-hmsfishery-management-plan-shark-quotamanagement.
NMFS has determined that
Amendment 14 is consistent with the
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other
applicable law. Amendment 14
establishes the general framework
through which specific management
measures would later be developed and
adopted, therefore there are no
implementing regulations associated
with this amendment. Any changes to
the management and quotas of HMSmanaged Atlantic sharks would be
considered in future rulemakings.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and
1801 et seq.
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Dated: January 18, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–01225 Filed 1–23–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XC659]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to
Specified Activities; Taking Marine
Mammals Incidental to Pile Driving for
the Long Beach Cruise Terminal
Improvement Project
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of renewal
Incidental Harassment Authorization
(IHA).
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
regulations implementing the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as
amended, notification is hereby given
that NMFS has issued a renewal IHA to
Carnival Corporation & GHD (Carnival)
to harass marine mammals incidental to
pile driving for the Long Beach Cruise
Terminal improvement project at the
Port of Long Beach, California.
DATES: This renewal IHA is valid from
January 18, 2023 through December 9,
2023.
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Craig Cockrell, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401.
Electronic copies of the original
application, Renewal request, and
supporting documents (including NMFS
Federal Register notices of the original
proposed and final authorizations, and
the previous IHA), as well as a list of the
references cited in this document, may
be obtained online at: https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/
incidental-take-authorizations-undermarine-mammal-protection-act. In case
of problems accessing these documents,
please call the contact listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA) prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of marine
mammals, with certain exceptions.
Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the
MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct
the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated
to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the
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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 either
regulations are proposed or, if the taking
is limited to harassment, a notice of a
proposed incidental take authorization
is provided to the public for review.
Authorization for incidental takings
shall be granted 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
taking for subsistence uses (where
relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe
the permissible methods of taking and
other ‘‘means of effecting the least
practicable adverse impact’’ on the
affected species or stocks and their
habitat, paying particular attention to
rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of
similar significance, and on the
availability of such species or stocks for
taking for certain subsistence uses
(referred to here as ‘‘mitigation
measures’’). Monitoring and reporting of
such takings are also required. The
meaning of key terms such as ‘‘take,’’
‘‘harassment,’’ and ‘‘negligible impact’’
can be found in section 3 of the MMPA
(16 U.S.C. 1362) and the agency’s
regulations at 50 CFR 216.103.
NMFS’ regulations implementing the
MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e) indicate
that IHAs may be renewed for
additional periods of time not to exceed
one year for each reauthorization. In the
notice of proposed IHA for the initial
authorization, NMFS described the
circumstances under which we would
consider issuing a renewal for this
activity, and requested public comment
on a potential renewal under those
circumstances. Specifically, on a caseby-case basis, NMFS may issue a onetime one-year renewal IHA following
notice to the public providing an
additional 15 days for public comments
when (1) up to another year of identical
or nearly identical, or nearly identical,
activities as described in the Detailed
Description of Specified Activities
section of the initial IHA issuance
notice is planned or (2) the activities as
described in the Detailed Description of
Specified Activities section of the initial
IHA issuance notice would not be
completed by the time the initial IHA
expires and a renewal would allow for
completion of the activities beyond that
described in the DATES section of the
initial IHA issuance, provided all of the
following conditions are met:
(1) A request for renewal is received
no later than 60 days prior to the needed
renewal IHA effective date (recognizing
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that the renewal IHA expiration date
cannot extend beyond 1 year from
expiration of the initial IHA).
(2) The request for renewal must
include the following:
• An explanation that the activities to
be conducted under the requested
renewal IHA are identical to the
activities analyzed under the initial
IHA, are a subset of the activities, or
include changes so minor (e.g.,
reduction in pile size) that the changes
do not affect the previous analyses,
mitigation and monitoring
requirements, or take estimates (with
the exception of reducing the type or
amount of take).
• A preliminary monitoring report
showing the results of the required
monitoring to date and an explanation
showing that the monitoring results do
not indicate impacts of a scale or nature
not previously analyzed or authorized.
(3) Upon review of the request for
renewal, the status of the affected
species or stocks, and any other
pertinent information, NMFS
determines that there are no more than
minor changes in the activities, the
mitigation and monitoring measures
will remain the same and appropriate,
and the findings in the initial IHA
remain valid.
An additional public comment period
of 15 days (for a total of 45 days), with
direct notice by email, phone, or postal
service to commenters on the initial
IHA, is provided to allow for any
additional comments on the proposed
renewal. A description of the renewal
process may be found on our website at:
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/incidentalharassment-authorization-renewals.
History of Request
On November 19, 2019, NMFS issued
an IHA to Carnival to take marine
mammals incidental to pile driving for
the Long Beach Cruise Terminal
improvement project in Long Beach,
California (84 FR 64833), effective from
November 19, 2019 through November
18, 2020. The original IHA was reissued
in 2020 (85 FR 81452) and again in 2021
(86 FR 54943), with the latter of these
referred to herein as the ‘‘initial IHA’’
for purposes of this renewal IHA. On
November 30, 2022, NMFS received an
application for the renewal of that
original IHA. As described in the
application for renewal IHA, the
activities for which incidental take is
requested are nearly identical to those
covered through the initial
authorization. No activity has yet been
conducted under any of the issued IHAs
and, therefore, there are no monitoring
results to report. The notice of the
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proposed renewal IHA was published
on December 29, 2023 (87 FR 80173).
Description of the Specified Activities
and Anticipated Impacts
Carnival was issued an initial
authorization for take of marine
mammals incidental to in-water
construction activities associated with
the Port of Long Beach Cruise Terminal
Improvement Project in Long Beach,
California. The purpose of the project is
to make improvements to its existing
berthing facilities at the Long Beach
Cruise Terminal at the Queen Mary
located at Pier H in the Port of Long
Beach, in order to accommodate a new,
larger class of cruise ships. As described
in detail in the notice of proposed IHA
for the original IHA (October 11, 2019;
84 FR 54867), in-water construction will
include installation of a maximum of 49
permanent, 36-inch (91.4 centimeters
(cm)) steel pipe piles using impact and
vibratory pile driving. A minor change
to the in-water construction activities
was described in the renewal request by
Carnival. In addition to the 49
permanent piles, 30 24-inch temporary
steel pipe piles will be placed to
provide a template for placement of the
permanent piles. Vibratory driving and
removal will be used for the temporary
piles. Pile driving activities were
initially expected to occur over a period
of approximately 26 days. Including the
aforementioned minor change to the
proposed construction activities, pile
driving activities are likely to occur over
a longer total duration. Sounds
produced by these activities may result
in take, by Level A harassment and
Level B harassment, of marine mammals
located in Long Beach, California. In
addition, related dredging activities will
occur for approximately 30 days. No
take of marine mammals is anticipated
to occur incidental to the planned
dredging. No work has been completed
under the original IHA or subsequent
reissuances.
Incidental takes to the in-water pile
driving and removal and dredging in
this renewal will be at the same level as
authorized in the initial IHA. Five
marine mammal species are expected to
experience Level B harassment and one
species has the potential for Level A
harassment (see Estimated Take).
All documents related to the original
and initial IHAs are available on our
website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/
action/incidental-take-authorizationcruise-terminal-improvement-projectport-long-beach-ca.
Detailed Description of the Activity
A detailed description of the activity
is available in the proposed IHA
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renewal notice (December 29, 2022; 87
FR 80173).
This renewal IHA is effective for a
period of one year from the date of
expiration of the initial IHA.
Description of Marine Mammals
A description of the marine mammals
in the area of the activities for which
authorization of take is proposed here,
including information on abundance,
status, distribution, and hearing, may be
found in the notices of the proposed and
final IHAs for the original authorization.
NMFS has reviewed the recent draft
Stock Assessment Reports (SARs),
information on relevant Unusual
Mortality Events (UME), and other
scientific literature, and determined that
neither this nor any other new
information affects which species or
stocks have the potential to be affected
or the pertinent information in the
Description of the Marine Mammals in
the Area of Specified Activities
contained in the supporting documents
for the original IHA.
It should be noted that the Final 2021
NMFS’ Marine Mammal SARs updated
stock abundances for short-beaked
common dolphins and long-beaked
common dolphins (Carretta et al., 2022).
For short-beaked common dolphins the
abundance increased slightly from the
original IHA stock abundance estimate
of 969,861 individuals to 1,056,308
individuals. For long-beaked common
dolphins the abundance decreased from
the initial IHA stock abundance
estimate of 101,305 individuals to
83,379 individuals. None of these
population trends impact the findings
made in support of the original IHA.
Additional information on all stocks
affected by this action is available in the
NMFS’ U.S. Pacific SARs (available
online at: https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/marinemammal-stock-assessments).
Potential Effects on Marine Mammals
and Their Habitat
A description of the potential effects
of the specified activity on marine
mammals and their habitat for the
activities for which the authorization of
take is proposed here may be found in
the notices of the proposed and final
IHAs for the initial authorization. NMFS
has reviewed recent draft SARs,
information on relevant UME, and other
scientific literature, and determined that
neither this nor any other new
information affects our initial analysis
of impacts on marine mammals and
their habitat.
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Estimated Take
A detailed description of the methods
and inputs used to estimate take for the
specified activity are found in the
notices of the proposed and final IHAs
for the original authorization.
Specifically, the source levels and
marine mammal density/occurrence
data applicable to this authorization
remain unchanged from the previously
issued IHA. Similarly, the stocks taken,
methods of take, and types of take
remain unchanged from the previously
issued IHA, as do the number of takes,
which are indicated below in Table 1.
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TABLE 1—ESTIMATED TAKE BY LEVEL A AND LEVEL B HARASSMENT, BY SPECIES AND STOCK, RESULTING FROM
PROPOSED CARNIVAL PROJECT ACTIVITIES
Common name
Stock
Short-beaked common dolphin .......................
Long-beaked common dolphin .......................
Common bottlenose dolphin ...........................
California sea lion ...........................................
Harbor seal .....................................................
CA/OR/WA .....................................................
California ........................................................
Coastal California ...........................................
U.S .................................................................
California ........................................................
Description of Mitigation, Monitoring
and Reporting Measures
The proposed mitigation, monitoring,
and reporting measures included as
requirements in this authorization are
identical to those included in the
Federal Register notice announcing the
issuance of the original IHA, and the
discussion of the least practicable
adverse impact included in that
document and the notice of the
proposed IHA remains accurate. The
following standard mitigation measures
are proposed for this renewal.
• Conduct briefings between
construction supervisors and crews and
the marine mammal monitoring team
prior to the start of all pile driving
activity, and when new personnel join
the work, to explain responsibilities,
communication procedures, marine
mammal monitoring protocol, and
operational procedures;
• For in-water heavy machinery work
other than pile driving (e.g., standard
barges, etc.), if a marine mammal comes
within 10 m, operations shall cease and
vessels shall reduce speed to the
minimum level required to maintain
steerage and safe working conditions.
This type of work could include the
following activities: (1) movement of the
barge to the pile location; or (2)
positioning of the pile on the substrate
via a crane (i.e., stabbing the pile);
• Work may only occur during
daylight hours, when visual monitoring
of marine mammals can be conducted;
• For those marine mammals for
which Level B harassment take has not
been requested, in-water pile driving
will shut down immediately if such
species are observed within or entering
the monitoring zone (i.e., Level B
harassment zone); and,
• If take reaches the authorized limit
for an authorized species, pile
installation will be stopped as these
species approach the Level B
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Level A take
harassment zone to avoid additional
take.
Additional mitigation measures
proposed for this renewal are as follows.
• Shutdown zones as specified in the
proposed IHA vibratory pile driving will
be implemented.
• The use of seven protected species
observers (PSO) that will be placed on
vessels at entrances to the Port of Long
Beach outside the breakwaters to
observe marine mammals traveling into
the shutdown zones.
• Soft start procedures for impact pile
driving consisting of an initial set of
strikes from the hammer at reduced
energy, with each strike followed by a
30-second waiting period.
• The use of a marine pile-driving
energy attenuator (i.e., air bubble
curtain system) will be implemented by
Carnival during impact and vibratory
pile driving of all steel pipe piles.
• Prior to the start of daily in-water
construction activity, or whenever a
break in pile driving of 30 minutes or
longer occurs, PSOs will observe the
shutdown and monitoring zones for a
period of 30 minutes.
• Carnival will only conduct pile
driving activities during daylight hours.
Monitoring and reporting
requirements associated with this
renewal are as follows.
• A total of seven PSOs will be based
on land and vessels will monitor pile
driving 30 minutes before, during, and
30 minutes after pile driving activities.
• Observers will be required to use
approved data forms.
• A draft report will be submitted to
NMFS within 90 days of the completion
of marine mammal monitoring. The
report will include marine mammal
observations pre-activity, duringactivity, and post-activity during pile
driving days (and associated PSO data
sheets).
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0
0
0
0
5
Total proposed
take
Proposed take
as percentage
of stock
942
942
122
2,232
984
0.10
0.92
26.93
0.87
3.18
Comments and Responses
NMFS received no public comments
on the proposed Renewal IHA.
Determinations
The construction activities are nearly
identical to those analyzed for the
original IHA, as are the method of taking
and the effects of the action. The
addition of the 30 temporary 24-inch
steel piles does not increase the size of
the Level A and Level B harassment
zones. In analyzing the effects of the
activities for the original IHA, NMFS
determined that the Carnival’s activities
will have a negligible impact on the
affected species or stocks and that the
authorized take numbers of each species
or stock were small relative to the
relevant stocks (e.g., less than one-third
of the abundance of all stocks).
Although some marine mammal
abundances have changed since the
original IHA, none of this new
information affects NMFS’
determinations supporting issuance of
the original and initial IHAs. The
mitigation measures and monitoring and
reporting requirements as described
above are identical to the initial IHA.
NMFS has concluded that there is no
new information suggesting that our
analysis or findings should change from
those reached for the initial IHA. This
includes consideration of the estimated
abundance of short-beaked common
dolphins and long-beaked common
dolphins decreasing/increasing slightly.
Based on the information and analysis
contained here and in the referenced
documents, NMFS has determined the
following: (1) the required mitigation
measures will effect the least practicable
impact on marine mammal species or
stocks and their habitat; (2) the
authorized takes will have a negligible
impact on the affected marine mammal
species or stocks; (3) the authorized
takes represent small numbers of marine
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mammals relative to the affected stock
abundances; (4) Carnival’s activities will
not have an unmitigable adverse impact
on taking for subsistence purposes as no
relevant subsistence uses of marine
mammals are implicated by this action,
and; (5) appropriate monitoring and
reporting requirements are included.
National Environmental Policy Act
To comply with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and
NOAA Administrative Order (NAO)
216–6A, NMFS must review our
proposed action (i.e., issuance of an IHA
renewal) with respect to potential
impacts on the human environment.
This action is consistent with categories
of activities identified in Categorical
Exclusion B4 (incidental harassment
authorizations with no anticipated
serious injury or mortality) of the
Companion Manual for NOAA
Administrative Order 216–6A, which do
not individually or cumulatively have
the potential for significant impacts on
the quality of the human environment
and for which we have not identified
any extraordinary circumstances that
would preclude this categorical
exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS
determined that the issuance of the
initial IHA qualified to be categorically
excluded from further NEPA review.
NMFS has preliminarily determined
that the application of this categorical
exclusion remains appropriate for this
renewal IHA.
Endangered Species Act
No incidental take of ESA-listed
species is authorized or expected to
result from this activity. Therefore,
NMFS has determined that formal
consultation under section 7 of the ESA
is not required for this action.
Renewal
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NMFS has issued a renewal IHA to
Carnival for the take of marine
mammals incidental to conducting pile
driving for the Long Beach Cruise
Terminal improvement project at the
Port of Long Beach, California from
January 18, 2023 to December 9, 2023.
Dated: January 18, 2023.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–01245 Filed 1–23–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XC615]
CIE Review of the Atlantis Ecosystem
Model in Support of Ecosystem-Based
Fishery Management in the Gulf of
Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
AGENCY:
The NMFS will convene a
peer-review of the Gulf of Mexico
(GOM) Atlantis ecosystem model, in
support of ecosystem-based fishery
management in the Gulf of Mexico
(GOM) large marine ecosystem. The
purpose of the meeting is to facilitate a
formal peer-review of the GOM Atlantis
ecosystem model, to evaluate the model
performance characteristics and to
identify any appropriate EBFM
applications in the southeast region that
the GOM Atlantis model could be used
to simulate. The external and
independent peer review will be
conducted by the Center for
Independent Experts (CIE), which is a
NOAA-supported, formal scientific
peer-review process for evaluating
scientific information to ensure quality
and credibility. The public is invited to
attend the presentations and discussions
between the CIE review panel and the
scientists who have participated in the
development and internal, peer-review
of the GOM Atlantis model.
DATES: The public portion of the Review
of the Atlantis Ecosystem Model in
Support of Ecosystem-Based Fishery
Management in the Gulf of Mexico
Large Marine Ecosystem Meeting will be
held March 28th, 2023–March 30th,
2023, with an open session for public
comment on March 30th, from 9:30–
11:30 a.m. eastern. Please see the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for the
daily meeting agenda.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be
available via Google Meet
(meet.google.com/pxj-bdic-zwh), or inperson at the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Research Institute (100 8th Ave. SE, St.
Petersburg, FL 33701), in the 3rd floor
conference room.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michelle Masi, phone: 727–551–5729;
email: michelle.masi@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For
further information, please visit the Gulf
Council’s Facebook page at https://
www.facebook.com/GulfCouncil/, or
SUMMARY:
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4161
their main web page at https://
gulfcouncil.org/.
Daily Meeting Agenda—GOM Atlantis
Model (CIE) Peer Review Meeting
The agenda is subject to change; all
times are in Eastern Time and are
approximate. Times may change, at the
discretion of the Peer Review meeting
facilitator.
Tentative Agenda
(Final agenda to be provided two
weeks prior to the meeting).
Review of the Atlantis Ecosystem Model
in Support of Ecosystem-Based Fishery
Management in the Gulf of Mexico
Large Marine Ecosystem
March 28—March 30, 2023
Florida Fish and Wildlife Research
Institute, 100 8th Avenue SE, St.
Petersburg FL 33701
Tuesday March 28th, 2023
9–9:30 a.m. Introduction to the role of
Atlantis ecosystem model at the
Southeast Fisheries Science Center
(Michelle Masi)
9:30–10 a.m. History, goals, and
evolution of Atlantis model
development at NWFSC and CSIRO
(Isaac Kaplan)
10–10:20 a.m. Current and potential
role of Atlantis ecosystem models
for the Gulf of Mexico Integrated
Ecosystem Assessment and/or
Council’s Fishery Ecosystem Plan
(Chris Kelble/Mandy Karnauskas)
Break
10:30–12 p.m. Overview of mechanics,
assumptions, and functional forms
of Atlantis (Cameron Ainsworth/
Holly Perryman)
Lunch
1–2 p.m. Continued: Overview of
mechanics, assumptions, and
functional forms of Atlantis
(Cameron Ainsworth/Holly
Perryman)
Break
2:15–3:30 p.m. Context from earlier
model versions: larval dispersal,
seagrass routine/dynamics, changes
in fishing pressure scenarios
(Cameron Ainsworth/Holly
Perryman)
3:30–4:30 p.m. Panel deliberation—1
hr
Wednesday March 29th, 2023
Published Atlantis model (Cameron
Ainsworth/Holly Perryman)
9- 9:30 a.m. Aims of the modeling
effort
9:30—9:45 a.m. Geography and
functional groups
9:45—10:30 a.m. Data (Cameron
Ainsworth)
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4158-4161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01245]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC659]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities;
Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Pile Driving for the Long Beach
Cruise Terminal Improvement Project
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of renewal Incidental Harassment Authorization
(IHA).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, notification is hereby given
that NMFS has issued a renewal IHA to Carnival Corporation & GHD
(Carnival) to harass marine mammals incidental to pile driving for the
Long Beach Cruise Terminal improvement project at the Port of Long
Beach, California.
DATES: This renewal IHA is valid from January 18, 2023 through December
9, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig Cockrell, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401. Electronic copies of the original
application, Renewal request, and supporting documents (including NMFS
Federal Register notices of the original proposed and final
authorizations, and the previous IHA), as well as a list of the
references cited in this document, may be obtained online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/incidental-take-authorizations-under-marine-mammal-protection-act. In case of problems accessing these
documents, please call the contact listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) prohibits the ``take'' of
marine mammals, with certain exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D)
of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce
(as delegated to 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 and
either regulations are proposed or, if the taking is limited to
harassment, a notice of a proposed incidental take authorization is
provided to the public for review.
Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted 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 taking for subsistence uses
(where relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods
of taking and other ``means of effecting the least practicable adverse
impact'' on the affected species or stocks and their habitat, paying
particular attention to rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar
significance, and on the availability of such species or stocks for
taking for certain subsistence uses (referred to here as ``mitigation
measures''). Monitoring and reporting of such takings are also
required. The meaning of key terms such as ``take,'' ``harassment,''
and ``negligible impact'' can be found in section 3 of the MMPA (16
U.S.C. 1362) and the agency's regulations at 50 CFR 216.103.
NMFS' regulations implementing the MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e)
indicate that IHAs may be renewed for additional periods of time not to
exceed one year for each reauthorization. In the notice of proposed IHA
for the initial authorization, NMFS described the circumstances under
which we would consider issuing a renewal for this activity, and
requested public comment on a potential renewal under those
circumstances. Specifically, on a case-by-case basis, NMFS may issue a
one-time one-year renewal IHA following notice to the public providing
an additional 15 days for public comments when (1) up to another year
of identical or nearly identical, or nearly identical, activities as
described in the Detailed Description of Specified Activities section
of the initial IHA issuance notice is planned or (2) the activities as
described in the Detailed Description of Specified Activities section
of the initial IHA issuance notice would not be completed by the time
the initial IHA expires and a renewal would allow for completion of the
activities beyond that described in the DATES section of the initial
IHA issuance, provided all of the following conditions are met:
(1) A request for renewal is received no later than 60 days prior
to the needed renewal IHA effective date (recognizing
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that the renewal IHA expiration date cannot extend beyond 1 year from
expiration of the initial IHA).
(2) The request for renewal must include the following:
An explanation that the activities to be conducted under
the requested renewal IHA are identical to the activities analyzed
under the initial IHA, are a subset of the activities, or include
changes so minor (e.g., reduction in pile size) that the changes do not
affect the previous analyses, mitigation and monitoring requirements,
or take estimates (with the exception of reducing the type or amount of
take).
A preliminary monitoring report showing the results of the
required monitoring to date and an explanation showing that the
monitoring results do not indicate impacts of a scale or nature not
previously analyzed or authorized.
(3) Upon review of the request for renewal, the status of the
affected species or stocks, and any other pertinent information, NMFS
determines that there are no more than minor changes in the activities,
the mitigation and monitoring measures will remain the same and
appropriate, and the findings in the initial IHA remain valid.
An additional public comment period of 15 days (for a total of 45
days), with direct notice by email, phone, or postal service to
commenters on the initial IHA, is provided to allow for any additional
comments on the proposed renewal. A description of the renewal process
may be found on our website at: www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/incidental-harassment-authorization-renewals.
History of Request
On November 19, 2019, NMFS issued an IHA to Carnival to take marine
mammals incidental to pile driving for the Long Beach Cruise Terminal
improvement project in Long Beach, California (84 FR 64833), effective
from November 19, 2019 through November 18, 2020. The original IHA was
reissued in 2020 (85 FR 81452) and again in 2021 (86 FR 54943), with
the latter of these referred to herein as the ``initial IHA'' for
purposes of this renewal IHA. On November 30, 2022, NMFS received an
application for the renewal of that original IHA. As described in the
application for renewal IHA, the activities for which incidental take
is requested are nearly identical to those covered through the initial
authorization. No activity has yet been conducted under any of the
issued IHAs and, therefore, there are no monitoring results to report.
The notice of the proposed renewal IHA was published on December 29,
2023 (87 FR 80173).
Description of the Specified Activities and Anticipated Impacts
Carnival was issued an initial authorization for take of marine
mammals incidental to in-water construction activities associated with
the Port of Long Beach Cruise Terminal Improvement Project in Long
Beach, California. The purpose of the project is to make improvements
to its existing berthing facilities at the Long Beach Cruise Terminal
at the Queen Mary located at Pier H in the Port of Long Beach, in order
to accommodate a new, larger class of cruise ships. As described in
detail in the notice of proposed IHA for the original IHA (October 11,
2019; 84 FR 54867), in-water construction will include installation of
a maximum of 49 permanent, 36-inch (91.4 centimeters (cm)) steel pipe
piles using impact and vibratory pile driving. A minor change to the
in-water construction activities was described in the renewal request
by Carnival. In addition to the 49 permanent piles, 30 24-inch
temporary steel pipe piles will be placed to provide a template for
placement of the permanent piles. Vibratory driving and removal will be
used for the temporary piles. Pile driving activities were initially
expected to occur over a period of approximately 26 days. Including the
aforementioned minor change to the proposed construction activities,
pile driving activities are likely to occur over a longer total
duration. Sounds produced by these activities may result in take, by
Level A harassment and Level B harassment, of marine mammals located in
Long Beach, California. In addition, related dredging activities will
occur for approximately 30 days. No take of marine mammals is
anticipated to occur incidental to the planned dredging. No work has
been completed under the original IHA or subsequent reissuances.
Incidental takes to the in-water pile driving and removal and
dredging in this renewal will be at the same level as authorized in the
initial IHA. Five marine mammal species are expected to experience
Level B harassment and one species has the potential for Level A
harassment (see Estimated Take).
All documents related to the original and initial IHAs are
available on our website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-cruise-terminal-improvement-project-port-long-beach-ca.
Detailed Description of the Activity
A detailed description of the activity is available in the proposed
IHA renewal notice (December 29, 2022; 87 FR 80173).
This renewal IHA is effective for a period of one year from the
date of expiration of the initial IHA.
Description of Marine Mammals
A description of the marine mammals in the area of the activities
for which authorization of take is proposed here, including information
on abundance, status, distribution, and hearing, may be found in the
notices of the proposed and final IHAs for the original authorization.
NMFS has reviewed the recent draft Stock Assessment Reports (SARs),
information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events (UME), and other
scientific literature, and determined that neither this nor any other
new information affects which species or stocks have the potential to
be affected or the pertinent information in the Description of the
Marine Mammals in the Area of Specified Activities contained in the
supporting documents for the original IHA.
It should be noted that the Final 2021 NMFS' Marine Mammal SARs
updated stock abundances for short-beaked common dolphins and long-
beaked common dolphins (Carretta et al., 2022). For short-beaked common
dolphins the abundance increased slightly from the original IHA stock
abundance estimate of 969,861 individuals to 1,056,308 individuals. For
long-beaked common dolphins the abundance decreased from the initial
IHA stock abundance estimate of 101,305 individuals to 83,379
individuals. None of these population trends impact the findings made
in support of the original IHA. Additional information on all stocks
affected by this action is available in the NMFS' U.S. Pacific SARs
(available online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-stock-assessments).
Potential Effects on Marine Mammals and Their Habitat
A description of the potential effects of the specified activity on
marine mammals and their habitat for the activities for which the
authorization of take is proposed here may be found in the notices of
the proposed and final IHAs for the initial authorization. NMFS has
reviewed recent draft SARs, information on relevant UME, and other
scientific literature, and determined that neither this nor any other
new information affects our initial analysis of impacts on marine
mammals and their habitat.
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Estimated Take
A detailed description of the methods and inputs used to estimate
take for the specified activity are found in the notices of the
proposed and final IHAs for the original authorization. Specifically,
the source levels and marine mammal density/occurrence data applicable
to this authorization remain unchanged from the previously issued IHA.
Similarly, the stocks taken, methods of take, and types of take remain
unchanged from the previously issued IHA, as do the number of takes,
which are indicated below in Table 1.
Table 1--Estimated Take by Level A and Level B Harassment, by Species and Stock, Resulting From Proposed
Carnival Project Activities
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Proposed take
Common name Stock Level A take Total proposed as percentage
take of stock
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Short-beaked common dolphin........... CA/OR/WA................ 0 942 0.10
Long-beaked common dolphin............ California.............. 0 942 0.92
Common bottlenose dolphin............. Coastal California...... 0 122 26.93
California sea lion................... U.S..................... 0 2,232 0.87
Harbor seal........................... California.............. 5 984 3.18
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Description of Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Measures
The proposed mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures
included as requirements in this authorization are identical to those
included in the Federal Register notice announcing the issuance of the
original IHA, and the discussion of the least practicable adverse
impact included in that document and the notice of the proposed IHA
remains accurate. The following standard mitigation measures are
proposed for this renewal.
Conduct briefings between construction supervisors and
crews and the marine mammal monitoring team prior to the start of all
pile driving activity, and when new personnel join the work, to explain
responsibilities, communication procedures, marine mammal monitoring
protocol, and operational procedures;
For in-water heavy machinery work other than pile driving
(e.g., standard barges, etc.), if a marine mammal comes within 10 m,
operations shall cease and vessels shall reduce speed to the minimum
level required to maintain steerage and safe working conditions. This
type of work could include the following activities: (1) movement of
the barge to the pile location; or (2) positioning of the pile on the
substrate via a crane (i.e., stabbing the pile);
Work may only occur during daylight hours, when visual
monitoring of marine mammals can be conducted;
For those marine mammals for which Level B harassment take
has not been requested, in-water pile driving will shut down
immediately if such species are observed within or entering the
monitoring zone (i.e., Level B harassment zone); and,
If take reaches the authorized limit for an authorized
species, pile installation will be stopped as these species approach
the Level B harassment zone to avoid additional take.
Additional mitigation measures proposed for this renewal are as
follows.
Shutdown zones as specified in the proposed IHA vibratory
pile driving will be implemented.
The use of seven protected species observers (PSO) that
will be placed on vessels at entrances to the Port of Long Beach
outside the breakwaters to observe marine mammals traveling into the
shutdown zones.
Soft start procedures for impact pile driving consisting
of an initial set of strikes from the hammer at reduced energy, with
each strike followed by a 30-second waiting period.
The use of a marine pile-driving energy attenuator (i.e.,
air bubble curtain system) will be implemented by Carnival during
impact and vibratory pile driving of all steel pipe piles.
Prior to the start of daily in-water construction
activity, or whenever a break in pile driving of 30 minutes or longer
occurs, PSOs will observe the shutdown and monitoring zones for a
period of 30 minutes.
Carnival will only conduct pile driving activities during
daylight hours.
Monitoring and reporting requirements associated with this renewal
are as follows.
A total of seven PSOs will be based on land and vessels
will monitor pile driving 30 minutes before, during, and 30 minutes
after pile driving activities.
Observers will be required to use approved data forms.
A draft report will be submitted to NMFS within 90 days of
the completion of marine mammal monitoring. The report will include
marine mammal observations pre-activity, during-activity, and post-
activity during pile driving days (and associated PSO data sheets).
Comments and Responses
NMFS received no public comments on the proposed Renewal IHA.
Determinations
The construction activities are nearly identical to those analyzed
for the original IHA, as are the method of taking and the effects of
the action. The addition of the 30 temporary 24-inch steel piles does
not increase the size of the Level A and Level B harassment zones. In
analyzing the effects of the activities for the original IHA, NMFS
determined that the Carnival's activities will have a negligible impact
on the affected species or stocks and that the authorized take numbers
of each species or stock were small relative to the relevant stocks
(e.g., less than one-third of the abundance of all stocks). Although
some marine mammal abundances have changed since the original IHA, none
of this new information affects NMFS' determinations supporting
issuance of the original and initial IHAs. The mitigation measures and
monitoring and reporting requirements as described above are identical
to the initial IHA.
NMFS has concluded that there is no new information suggesting that
our analysis or findings should change from those reached for the
initial IHA. This includes consideration of the estimated abundance of
short-beaked common dolphins and long-beaked common dolphins
decreasing/increasing slightly. Based on the information and analysis
contained here and in the referenced documents, NMFS has determined the
following: (1) the required mitigation measures will effect the least
practicable impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their
habitat; (2) the authorized takes will have a negligible impact on the
affected marine mammal species or stocks; (3) the authorized takes
represent small numbers of marine
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mammals relative to the affected stock abundances; (4) Carnival's
activities will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on taking for
subsistence purposes as no relevant subsistence uses of marine mammals
are implicated by this action, and; (5) appropriate monitoring and
reporting requirements are included.
National Environmental Policy Act
To comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA;
42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-6A,
NMFS must review our proposed action (i.e., issuance of an IHA renewal)
with respect to potential impacts on the human environment. This action
is consistent with categories of activities identified in Categorical
Exclusion B4 (incidental harassment authorizations with no anticipated
serious injury or mortality) of the Companion Manual for NOAA
Administrative Order 216-6A, which do not individually or cumulatively
have the potential for significant impacts on the quality of the human
environment and for which we have not identified any extraordinary
circumstances that would preclude this categorical exclusion.
Accordingly, NMFS determined that the issuance of the initial IHA
qualified to be categorically excluded from further NEPA review. NMFS
has preliminarily determined that the application of this categorical
exclusion remains appropriate for this renewal IHA.
Endangered Species Act
No incidental take of ESA-listed species is authorized or expected
to result from this activity. Therefore, NMFS has determined that
formal consultation under section 7 of the ESA is not required for this
action.
Renewal
NMFS has issued a renewal IHA to Carnival for the take of marine
mammals incidental to conducting pile driving for the Long Beach Cruise
Terminal improvement project at the Port of Long Beach, California from
January 18, 2023 to December 9, 2023.
Dated: January 18, 2023.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-01245 Filed 1-23-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
