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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 106 / Friday, June 4, 2021 / Proposed Rules Implementing standard tow durations to reduce the likelihood of incidental take of marine mammals.
Implementing the mitigation strategy known as the move-on rule, which incorporates best professional judgment, when necessary during fisheries research.
Removing gear from water if marine mammals are at-risk or interact with gear.
Complying with applicable vessel speed restrictions and separation distances from marine mammals.
Complying with applicable and relevant take reduction plans for marine mammals.

draft-supplemental-programmaticenvironmental-assessment-nefscresearch-now-available.
Information in the PEA, SPEA, NEFSCs application, and this notice collectively provide the environmental information related to proposed issuance of these regulations and subsequent incidental take authorization for public review and comment. We will review all comments submitted in response to this notice prior to concluding our NEPA process and making a final decision on NEFSCs request.

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
2166A, NMFS must review our proposed action i.e., the issuance of an IHA with respect to potential impacts on the human environment.
In July 2016, the NEFSC published a Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment PEA for Fisheries Research Conducted and Funded by the NEFSC NMFS 2016a to consider the direct, indirect and cumulative effects to the human environment resulting from NEFSCs activities as well as OPRs issuance of the regulations and subsequent incidental take authorization. NMFS made the PEA
available to the public for review and comment, in relation specifically to its suitability for assessment of the impacts of our action under the MMPA. OPR
signed a Finding of No Significant Impact FONSI on August 3, 2016.
These documents are available at https www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/
incidental-take-authorization-noaafisheries-nefsc-fisheries-and-ecosystemresearch.
On September 18, 2020, NMFS
announced the availability of a Draft Supplemental PEA for Fisheries Research Conducted and Funded by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center for review and comment 85 FR 58339. The purpose of the Draft SPEA is to evaluate potential direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of unforeseen changes in research that were not analyzed in the 2016 PEA, or new research activities along the U.S. East Coast. Where necessary, updates to certain information on species, stock status or other components of the affected environment that may result in different conclusions from the 2016 PEA
are presented in this analysis. The supplemental PEA is available at https www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/

On September 2, 2020, NMFS
received an application from NEFSC
requesting promulgation of regulations and issuance of a 5-year LOA to take marine mammals incidental to fisheries and ecosystem research in the Atlantic Ocean. NEFSC subsequently submitted revised applications on October 29, 2020; November 19, 2020; and December 3, 2020. The December application was deemed adequate and complete on December 9, 2020. In accordance with the MMPA, we published a notice of receipt NOR of the NEFSCs application in the Federal Register, requesting comments and information related to the NEFSC
request for thirty days 85 FR 83901, December 23, 2020. We did not receive comments on the NOR.
The NEFSCs request is for take of a small number of 10 species of marine mammals by mortality or serious injury incidental to gear interaction and 32
species or stocks by Level B harassment incidental to use of active acoustic devices during fisheries and ecosystem research. NMFS previously issued a LOA to NEFSC for similar work 81 FR
64442, September 20, 2016; that LOA
expires September 9, 2021. To date, NEFSC has complied with all the requirements e.g., mitigation, monitoring, and reporting of the current LOA and did not exceed authorized take for a species. NEFSC
annual monitoring reports can be found at www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/
incidental-take-authorization-noaafisheries-nefsc-fisheries-and-ecosystemresearch.

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Summary of Request
Description of Proposed Activity Overview The NEFSC is the research arm of NMFS in the Greater Atlantic Region Maine to Virginia. The NEFSC plans, develops, and manages a multidisciplinary program of basic and applied research to generate the information necessary for the
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conservation and management of the regions living marine resources, including the regions marine and anadromous fish and invertebrate populations to ensure they remain at sustainable and healthy levels. The NEFSC collects a wide array of information necessary to evaluate the status of exploited fishery resources and the marine environment from fishery independent i.e., non-commercial or recreational fishing platforms. Surveys are conducted from NOAA-owned and operated vessels, NOAA chartered vessels, or research partner-owned or chartered vessels in the state and Federal waters of the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida.
The NEFSC plans to administer, fund, or conduct 59 fisheries and ecosystem research survey programs over the 5year period the proposed regulations would be effective Table 1. Of the 59
surveys, only 42 involve gear and equipment with the potential to take marine mammals. Gear types include towed trawl nets fished at various levels in the water column, dredges, gillnets, traps, longline and other hook and line gear. Surveys using any type of seine net e.g., gillnets, trawl net, or hook and line e.g., longlines have the potential for marine mammal interaction e.g., entanglement, hooking resulting in M/
SI harassment. In addition, the NEFSC
conducts hydrographic, oceanographic, and meteorological sampling concurrent with many of these surveys which requires the use of active acoustic devices e.g., side-scan sonar, echosounders. These active sonars result in elevated sound levels in the water column, potentially causing behavioral disturbance rising to the level of harassment Level B.
Dates and Duration NEFSC would conduct research yearround; however, certain surveys would occur seasonally Table 1. The proposed regulations and associated LOA would be valid September 10, 2021
through September 9, 2026.
Specified Geographical Region The NEFSC would conduct fisheries research activities off of the U.S.
Atlantic coast within the Northeast U.S.
Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem NE LME, an area defined as the 200 miles off the shoreline and reaching from the U.S.-Canada border to Cape Hatteras Figure 1. The NE LME
is divided into four areas: The Gulf of Maine GOM, Georges Bank GB, Southern New England SNE, and the Mid-Atlantic Bight MAB. A small number of NEFSC surveys into the Southeast U.S. Continental Shelf LME

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