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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
101a5A of the MMPA and the implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 216, subpart I provide the legal basis for issuing this rule containing five-year regulations, and for any subsequent Letters of Authorization LOAs. As directed by this legal authority, this final rule contains mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements.

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Summary of Major Provisions Within the Regulations Following is a summary of the major provisions of these regulations regarding Point Blues seabird research activities.
These measures include:
Required implementation of mitigation to minimize impact to pinnipeds including several measures to approach haulouts cautiously to minimize disturbance, and avoiding surveying when pups are present.
Required monitoring of the research areas to detect the presence of marine mammals before initiating surveys.
Background The MMPA prohibits the take of marine mammals, with certain exceptions. Sections 101a5A 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, regulations are issued, and notice is provided to the public.
Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or stocks and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or stocks 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 the species or stocks for taking for certain subsistence uses referred to, in shorthand, as mitigation; and requirements pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of the takings are set forth.
The definitions of all applicable MMPA statutory terms cited above are included in the relevant sections below.
Summary of Request On September 17, 2019, NMFS
received a request from Point Blue for
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a proposed rule and LOA to take marine mammals incidental to seabird research activities on the central California coast.
We determined the application was adequate and complete on November 26, 2019. Point Blues request is for take of a small number of California sea lions Zalophus californianus, harbor seals Phoca vitulina richardii, northern elephant seals Mirounga angustirostris, northern fur seals Callorhinus ursinus, Guadalupe fur seals Arctocephalus philippii townsendi, and Steller sea lions Eumetopias jubatus, by Level B
harassment only. Neither Point Blue nor NMFS expects serious injury or mortality, or Level A harassment, to result from this activity. On July 24, 2020, NMFS issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register 85 FR 44835
soliciting public comments for 30 days.
All public comments were considered in developing this final rule.
NMFS previously issued ten Incidental Harassment Authorizations IHAs to Point Blue for similar work from 2006 through 2020 72 FR 71121, December 14, 2007; 73 FR 77011, December 18, 2008; 75 FR 8677, February 19, 2010; 77 FR 73989, December 7, 2012; 78 FR 66686, November 6, 2013; 80 FR 80321, December 24, 2015; 81 FR 34978, June 1, 2016; 82 FR 31759, July 7, 2017; 83
FR 31372, July 5, 2018; 85 FR 9740, February 20, 2020. In addition, NMFS
issued an IHA for work from October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021, during the development of this final rule 85 FR 63258; October 7, 2020.
Point Blue complied with all the requirements e.g., mitigation, monitoring, and reporting of the previous IHAs and information regarding their monitoring results may be found in the Potential Effects of the Specified Activity on Marine Mammals and their Habitat and Estimated Take sections.
Description of Proposed Activity Overview Point Blue, along with their research partners Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge and Point Reyes National Seashore, have been conducting seabird research in central California for over 30 years.
This research is conducted under cooperative agreements with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service USFWS in consultation with the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.
Point Blue conducts research activities on Southeast Farallon Island SEFI, Ano Nuevo Island ANI, and Point Reyes National Seashore PRNS.
Research activities include monitoring and censusing seabird colonies,
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observing seabird nesting habitat, restoring nesting burrows, and resupplying a field station at SEFI.
Research is conducted throughout the year at each of the research sites.
Researchers accessing and conducting research activities on the sites may occasionally cause behavioral disturbance or Level B harassment of six pinniped species. Point Blue expects that the disturbance to pinnipeds from the research activities will be minimal and will be limited to Level B
harassment.
Dates and Duration Point Blues research is conducted throughout the year. At SEFI, seabird monitoring sites are visited 13 times per day for a maximum of 500 visits per year. Boat landings to re-supply the field station, lasting 13 hours, are conducted once every two weeks. At ANI, research is conducted approximately once a week from April August, with occasional intermittent visits made during the rest of the year.
The maximum number of visits per year would be 20. Research at PRNS is conducted year round, with an emphasis during the seabird nesting season, and with occasional intermittent visits the rest of the year. The maximum number of visits per year is 20. A
component of the seabird research involves habitat restoration and monitoring which requires sporadic visits from SeptemberNovember, the time period between the seabird breeding season and the elephant seal pupping season.
Specific Geographic Region Point Blue will conduct their research activities within the vicinity of pinniped haul-out sites in the following locations:
South Farallon Islands: The South Farallon Islands consist of SEFI, located at 374154.32 N; 12308.33 W, and West End Island. The South Farallon Islands have a land area of approximately 120 acres 0.49 square kilometers km2 and are part of the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge. The islands are located near the edge of the continental shelf 28 miles mi 45.1 km west of San Francisco, California, and lie within the waters of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary;
Ano Nuevo Island: ANI is located at 37629.25 N; 1222012.20 W, onequarter mile 402 meters m offshore of Ano Nuevo Point in San Mateo County, California. The island lies within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Ano Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area; and
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