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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Notices
PRP. The IHA allows NMFS to update the Level A and Level B harassment zones and shutdown zones, as appropriate, pending review and approval of the results of the acoustic monitoring. Additionally, the final IHA
requires AGDC to deploy three hydrophones during construction in the open-water season, rather than just one, as stated in the proposed IHA. AGDC
will deploy the hydrophones three days prior to the start of construction, and they will remain deployed through construction and for three days after the completion of construction. AGDC will still deploy just one hydrophone during the ice-cover season, should AGDC need conduct construction activities during that time. As stated in the proposed IHA, these hydrophones will be used for PAM of marine mammals, but will not be monitored in real time or used for mitigation. The final IHA also includes an additional reporting measure related to PAM for marine mammals which was suggested by the PRP, requiring AGDC
to report marine mammal detection rates from PAM, summarized into daily or weekly periods. AGDC will include this information in its acoustic monitoring report, but is not required to submit this information to NMFS on a daily or weekly basis throughout the project duration.
The final IHA includes several slight modifications to the take estimate.
NMFS updated the Level A harassment take calculations for phocids and beluga whale by correcting the zone sizes used in the calculation. The updated calculation did not result in a change to the authorized Level A harassment take of beluga whale, but the authorized Level A harassment take of ringed seal, spotted seal, and bearded seal decreased. Additionally, NMFS updated the Level B harassment take estimate for beluga whales to account for an increased density due to the
incorporation of recently-available 2019
ASAMM survey data Clarke et al., 2020. The resulting Level B harassment take estimate for beluga whales increased to 55 Level B harassment takes in the final IHA from the 31 Level B harassment takes estimated in the proposed IHA. Please see the Estimated Take section for additional information on changes to the take estimate.
Finally, since publication of the proposed IHA, NMFS published a proposed rule for the Designation of Critical Habitat for the Beringia Distinct Population Segment DPS of the Bearded Seal 86 FR 1433; January 8, 2021, and a revised proposed rule for the Designation of Critical Habitat for the Arctic Subspecies of the Ringed Seal 86 FR 1452; January 8, 2021. Please see the Description of Marine Mammals in the Area of Specified Activities section for additional information.
Description of Marine Mammals in the Area of Specified Activities Sections 3 and 4 of the application summarize available information regarding status and trends, distribution and habitat preferences, and behavior and life history of the potentially affected species. Additional information regarding population trends and threats may be found in NMFS Stock Assessment Reports SARs; https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/marinemammal-stock-assessments and more general information about these species e.g., physical and behavioral descriptions may be found on NMFS
website https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/find-species.
Additional information may be found in the Aerial Survey of Arctic Marine Mammals ASAMM reports, which are available online at https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/marinemammal-protection/aerial-surveysarctic-marine-mammals.

Table 2 lists all species or stocks for which take is expected and authorized for this action, and summarizes information related to the population or stock, including regulatory status under the MMPA and ESA and potential biological removal PBR, where known.
For taxonomy, we follow Committee on Taxonomy 2019. PBR is defined by the MMPA as the maximum number of animals, not including natural mortalities, that may be removed from a marine mammal stock while allowing that stock to reach or maintain its optimum sustainable population as described in NMFSs SARs. While no mortality is anticipated or authorized here, PBR and annual serious injury and mortality from anthropogenic sources are included here as gross indicators of the status of the species and other threats.
Marine mammal abundance estimates presented in this document represent the total number of individuals that make up a given stock or the total number estimated within a particular study or survey area. NMFS stock abundance estimates for most species represent the total estimate of individuals within the geographic area, if known, that comprises that stock. For some species, this geographic area may extend beyond U.S. waters. All managed stocks in this region are assessed in NMFS U.S. Pacific and Alaska SARs e.g., Muto et al., 2019. All values presented in Table 2 are the most recent available at the time of publication and are available in the 2019 Pacific and Alaska SARs Carretta et al., 2019; Muto et al., 2019 and draft 2020 Alaska SARs published since publication of the proposed IHA and available online at:
https www.fisheries.noaa.gov/
national/marine-mammal-protection/
draft-marine-mammal-stockassessment-reports.

TABLE 2SPECIES FOR WHICH TAKE IS REASONABLY LIKELY TO OCCUR
Common name
Scientific name
ESA/
MMPA
status;
strategic Y/N 1

Stock
Stock abundance CV, Nmin, most recent abundance survey 2

PBR

Annual M/SI 3

tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES2

Order CetartiodactylaCetaceaSuperfamily Mysticeti baleen whales Family Eschrichtiidae:
Gray whale
Family Balaenidae:
Bowhead whale

Eschrichtius robustus

Eastern North Pacific

-/-; N

26,960 0.05, 25,849, 2016

801

131

Balaena mysticetus

Western Arctic

E/D; Y

16,820 0.052, 16,100, 2011.

161

56

UND
178

102
55

Superfamily Odontoceti toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises Family Delphinidae:
Beluga whale

VerDate Sep<11>2014

Delphinapterus leucas

20:43 Feb 19, 2021

Jkt 253001

PO 00000

Beaufort Sea
Eastern Chukchi Sea

Frm 00022

Fmt 4701

-/-; N
-/-; N

Sfmt 4703

39,258 0.229, NA, 1992
13,305 0.51, 8,875, 2017 ..

E:FRFM22FEN2.SGM

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