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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 148 / Thursday, August 5, 2021 / Rules and Regulations to an oil spill. Seals respond to vessel noise and potentially other Industry activities. Some seals exhibited a flush response, entering water when previously hauled out on ice, when noticing an icebreaker vessel that ranged from 100 m to 800 m away from the seal Lomac-MacNair et al. 2019. This disturbance response in addition to other behavioral responses could extend to other Industry vessels and activities, such as dredging Todd et al. 2015.
Sounds from Industry activity are probably audible to ringed seals and harbor seals at distances up to approximately 1.5 km in the water and approximately 5 km in the air Blackwell et al. 2004. Disturbance from Industry activity may cause seals to avoid important habitat areas, such as pupping lairs or haulouts, and to abandon breathing holes near Industry activity. However, these disturbances appear to have minor, short-term, and temporary effects NMFS 2013.
Consumption of oiled seals may impact polar bears through their exposure to oil spills during Industry activity see Evaluation of Effects on Oil Spills on Pacific Walruses and Polar Bears. Ingestion of oiled seals would cause polar bears to ingest oil and inhale oil fumes, which can cause tissue and organ damage for polar bears Engelhardt 1983. If polar bear fur were to become oiled during ingestion of oiled seals, this may lead to thermoregulation issues, increased metabolic activity, and further ingestion of oil during grooming Engelhardt 1983. Ringed seals that have been exposed to oil or ingested oiled prey can accumulate hydrocarbons in their blubber and liver Engelhardt 1983.
These increased levels of hydrocarbons may affect polar bears even if seals are not oiled during ingestion. Polar bears could be impacted by reduced seal availability, displacement of seals in response to Industry activity, increased energy demands to hunt for displaced seals, and increased dependency on limited alternative prey sources, such as scavenging on bowhead whale carcasses harvested during subsistence hunts. If seal availability were to decrease, then the survival of polar bears may be drastically affected Fahd et al. 2021.
However, apart from a large-scale illegal oil spill, impacts from Industry activity on seals are anticipated to be minor and short-term, and these impacts are unlikely to substantially reduce the availability of seals as a prey source for polar bears. The risk of large-scale oil spills is discussed in Risk Assessment of Potential Effects upon Polar Bears from a Large Oil Spill in the Beaufort Sea.

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Evaluation of Effects of Specified Activities on Pacific Walruses, Polar Bears, and Prey Species Definitions of Incidental Take Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act Below we provide definitions of three potential types of take of Pacific walruses or polar bears. The Service does not anticipate and is not authorizing lethal take or Level A
harassment as a part of the rule;
however, the definitions of these take types are provided for context and background.
Lethal Take Human activity may result in biologically significant impacts to polar bears or Pacific walruses. In the most serious interactions, human actions can result in mortality of polar bears or Pacific walruses. We also note that, while not considered incidental, in situations where there is an imminent threat to human life, polar bears may be killed. Additionally, though not considered incidental, polar bears have been accidentally killed during efforts to deter polar bears from a work area for safety and from direct chemical exposure 81 FR 52276, August 5, 2016.
Incidental lethal take could result from human activity such as a vehicle collision or collapse of a den if it were run over by a vehicle. Unintentional disturbance of a female by human activity during the denning season may cause the female either to abandon her den prematurely with cubs or abandon her cubs in the den before the cubs can survive on their own. Either scenario may result in the incidental lethal take of the cubs. Incidental lethal take of Pacific walrus could occur if the animal were directly struck by a vessel, or trampled by other walruses in a humancaused stampede.
Level A Harassment Human activity may result in the injury of polar bears or Pacific walruses.
Level A harassment, for nonmilitary readiness activities, is defined as any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance that has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild. Take by Level A harassment can be caused by numerous actions such as creating an annoyance that separates mothers from dependent cubs/calves Amstrup 2003, results in polar bear mothers leaving the den early Amstrup and Gardner 1994, Rode et al. 2018b, or interrupts the nursing or resting of cubs/
calves. For this ITR, we have also distinguished between non-serious and serious Level A harassment. Serious Level A harassment is defined here as
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an injury that is likely to result in mortality.
Level A harassment to bears on the surface is extremely rare within the ITR
region. From 2012 through 2018, one instance of Level A harassment occurred within the ITR region associated with defense of human life while engaged in non-Industry activity. No Level A
harassment to Pacific walruses has been reported in the Beaufort Sea ITR region.
Given this information, the Service does not estimate Level A harassment to polar bears or Pacific walruses will result from the activities specified in AOGAs Request. Nor has Industry anticipated or requested authorization for such take in their Request for ITRs.
Level B Harassment Level B Harassment for nonmilitary readiness activities means any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance that has the potential to disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of behaviors or activities, including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, feeding, or sheltering. Changes in behavior that disrupt biologically significant behaviors or activities for the affected animal meet the criteria for take by Level B harassment under the MMPA. Reactions that indicate take by Level B harassment of polar bears in response to human activity include, but are not limited to, the following:
Fleeing running or swimming away from a human or a human activity;
Displaying a stress-related behavior such as jaw or lip-popping, front leg stomping, vocalizations, circling, intense staring, or salivating;
Abandoning or avoiding preferred movement corridors such as ice floes, leads, polynyas, a segment of coastline, or barrier islands;
Using a longer or more difficult route of travel instead of the intended path;
Interrupting breeding, sheltering, or feeding;
Moving away at a fast pace adult and cubs struggling to keep up;
Ceasing to nurse or rest cubs;
Ceasing to rest repeatedly or for a prolonged period adults;
Loss of hunting opportunity due to disturbance of prey; or Any interruption in normal denning behavior that does not cause injury, den abandonment, or early departure of the family group from the den site.
This list is not meant to encompass all possible behaviors; other behavioral responses may equate to take by Level B harassment. Relatively minor changes in behavior such as increased vigilance or a short-term change in direction of
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