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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 8, 2021 / Notices
the WA/OR/CA sablefish pot fishery that occurred in 2017. As noted in Carretta et al. 2021a, this non-serious injury is not counted against PBR and is not included in the M/SI estimates for the fishery. The accompanying MMPA
101a5E determination document has been updated to reflect the draft 2021 CA/OR/WA humpback whale SAR.
As noted above, the CA/OR/WA
humpback whale SAR also includes unattributed fishery-related M/SI for the stock, which is not assigned to a specific commercial fishery. This unattributed fishery-related M/SI could be from any number of commercial, recreational or tribal fisheries, including the WA/OR/
CA sablefish pot fishery. Because data are not currently available to assign the unattributed fishery-related M/SI to a specific commercial fishery, we did not include it in the calculations for the NID
Tier 2 analysis. In addition, because the CA/OR/WA humpback whale stock is considered to be transboundary stock, NMFS assumed NITt is exceeded and conducted the more conservative Tier 2
analysis with the lower NITs criterion.
Comment 8: WDC/NRDC notes that the proposed permit uses a different abundance estimate for the CA/OR/WA
stock of humpback whale than the abundance estimate in the final 2019
SAR. They state that NMFS has identified the Central America DPS as a demographically independent population DIP under the MMPA, and PBR should be calculated for the Central America DIP separately.
Response: See response to Comment 3 and 7 above. The abundance estimates for the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whales used in the analysis for the proposed permit are consistent with the final 2019 SAR and the recent 2021 draft SAR. As noted in the response to comment 3, NMFS is in the process of revising humpback whale stock structure following the process laid out in NMFS 2019. This process includes evaluating the lines of evidence to support the delineation of DIPs, including whether such evidence supports the delineation of the Central America DPS as a DIP. Martien et al.
2019 does not serve as the DIP
delineation document for the Central America DPS. In the analysis supporting issuance of this permit and the NID, NMFS relied on the existing MMPA
designation of the CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whales. Nevertheless, if, during the 3-year authorization, there is a significant change in the information or conditions used to support any of these determinations, including a change in MMPA stock structure, NMFS
will re-evaluate the permit.

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Comment 9: WDC/NRDC reiterate their previous comments submitted on the NMFS draft Criteria for Determining Negligible Impact under MMPA Section 101a5E. They restate that the approach to negligible impact determinations undermines the protections for marine mammals protected as threatened or endangered under the ESA, and assessing the impacts of a single fishery when total M/SI exceeds PBR is an inadequate standard. WDC/NRDC requests NMFS
consider total human-caused M/SI for the humpback whale DPSs, and if all fisheries-related M/SI exceeds PBR for the Central America or Mexico DPS, that NMFS delay issuing the permit until mitigation measures are implemented.
Response: As previously stated 86 FR
24384; May 6, 2021, NMFS received several comments on the draft Criteria for Determining Negligible Impact under MMPA Section 101a5E stating the directive was either overly precautionary or not precautionary enough. These comments were previously addressed in the response to comments see Comment 4 on the draft Criteria for Determining Negligible Impact under MMPA Section 101a5E. The full response to comments on the procedural directive is available at: https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/criteriadetermining-negligible-impact-undermmpa-section-101a5e.
As described in the Criteria for Determining Negligible Impact under MMPA Section 101a5E, due to the uncertainty regarding the M/SI that occurs outside of U.S. waters, we assume that total M/SI exceeds NITt for transboundary, migratory stocks and proceed directly to the Tier 2 NITs analysis. The CA/OR/WA stock of humpback whale is considered a transboundary stock and using the Criteria for Determining Negligible Impact under MMPA Section 101a5E a Tier 2 NITs analysis was conducted.
References
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Dated: December 2, 2021.
Kimberly Damon-Randall, Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
FR Doc. 202126536 Filed 12721; 8:45 am BILLING CODE 351022P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Carretta, J.W., K.A. Forney, E.M. Olson, D.W.
Weller, A.R. Lang, J. Baker, M.M. Muto, B. Hanson, A.J. Orr, H. Huber, M.S.
Lowry, J. Barlow, J.E. Moore, D. Lynch, and R.L. Brownell. 2021. Draft U.S.
Pacific Marine Mammal Stock Assessments: 2021. NOAATMNMFS
SWFSCXXX.
Carretta, J.W., J. Greenman, K. Wilkinson, J.
Freed, L. Saez, D. Lawson, J. Viezbicke, and J. Jannot. 2021a. Sources of Humanrelated Injury and Mortality for U.S.
Pacific West Coast Marine Mammal Stock Assessments, 20152019. U.S.
Department of Commerce, NOAA
Technical Memorandum NMFS

PO 00000

SWFSC643.
Martien, K.K., A.R. Lang, B.L. Taylor, P.E.
Rosel, SE Simmons, E.M. Oleson, P.L.
Boveng., and M.B. Hanson. 2019. The DIP Delineation Handbook: A Guide to Using Multiple Lines of Evidence to Delineate Demographically Independent Populations of Marine Mammals. NOAA
Technical Memorandum NMFS
SWFSC622, 135 p. Available at: https
repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/
22660.
National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS.
2020. National Marine Fisheries Service Procedure 0220402: Criteria for Determining Negligible Impact under MMPA Section 101a5E. 20 p.
Available online: https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/lawsand-policies/protected-resources-policydirectives.
National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS.
2019. National Marine Fisheries Service Procedure 0220403: Reviewing and designating stocks and issuing Stock Assessment Reports under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. 9 p. Available online: https www.fisheries.noaa.gov/
national/laws-and-policies/protectedresources-policy-directives.
National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS.
2016. National Marine Fisheries Service Procedure 0220401: Guidelines for preparing stock assessment reports pursuant to the 1994 amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act. 23 p.
Available online: https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/guidelinesassessing-marine-mammal-stocks.
National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS.
2014. National Marine Fisheries Service Procedure 0223801: Process for Distinguishing Serious from Non-Serious Injury of Marine Mammals. 42 p.
Available online: https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/marinemammal-protection-act-policiesguidance-and-regulations
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RTID 0648XB623

Marine Mammals; File No. 26024
National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.
AGENCY:

Notice is hereby given that Ocean Futures Society, 513 De La Vina
SUMMARY:

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