National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration November 24, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS received a request from the United States Navy (Navy) on October 14, 2020, for a modification to the incidental harassment authorization (IHA) that was issued on July 3, 2019 due to an elevated harbor seal take rate that was unanticipated. A small group of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) repeatedly entered into and remained within the Level A harassment zone, resulting in a take rate that was projected to exceed the authorized limit for this species. The Navy felt that without an increase in authorized take of harbor seal they would be forced to repeatedly shut down whenever animals entered into specified Level A harassment zones, which would impede their ability to get the work done in the time needed. Therefore, NMFS is proposing to modify the IHA to increase authorized take by Level A harassment of harbor seal. NMFS is also proposing to revise the shutdown mitigation provisions for harbor seals in the modified IHA. The monitoring and reporting measures remain the same as prescribed in the initial IHA and no additional take was requested for other species. NMFS will consider public comments on the requested modification prior to making any final decision and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.