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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 106 / Friday, June 4, 2021 / Notices
species at the time it is listed, upon a determination by the Secretary that such areas are essential for the conservation of the species.
Mexico DPS humpback whale critical habitat includes marine waters in Washington, Oregon, California, and Alaska. Only the areas designated in southeast Alaska fall within the survey area. The relevant designated critical habitat Unit 10 extends from 13924
W, southeastward to the U.S. border with Canada. The area also extends offshore to a boundary drawn along the 2,000-m isobath. The essential feature for Mexico DPS humpback whale critical habitat is prey species, primarily euphausiids and small pelagic schooling fishes of sufficient quality, abundance, and accessibility within humpback whale feeding areas to support feeding and population growth. This area was drawn to encompass well-established feeding grounds in southeast Alaska and an identified feeding BIA 86 FR 21082;
April 21, 2021. Humpback whales occur year-round in this unit, with highest densities occurring in summer and fall Baker et al., 1985, 1986.
Critical habitat for humpback whales has been designated under Canadian law in four locations in British Columbia DFO, 2013, including in the waters of the survey area off Haida Gwaii Langara Island and Southeast Moresby Island. These areas show persistent aggregations of humpback whales and have features such as prey availability, suitable acoustic environment, water quality, and physical space that allow for feeding, foraging, socializing, and resting DFO, 2013.
Designated Steller sea lion critical habitat includes terrestrial, aquatic, and air zones that extend 3,000 ft 0.9 km landward, seaward, and above each major rookery and major haul-out in Alaska. Within the survey area, critical habitat is located on islands off the coast of southeast Alaska e.g., Sitka, Coronation Island, Noyes Island, and Forrester Island. The physical and biological features identified for the aquatic areas of Steller sea lion designated critical habitat that occur within the survey area are those that support foraging, such as adequate prey resources and available foraging habitat.
The proposed survey tracklines do not directly overlap any areas of Steller sea lion critical habitat, though the extent of the estimated ensonified area associated with the survey would overlap with units of Steller sea lion critical habitat.
However, the brief duration of ensonification for any critical habitat unit leads us to conclude that any impacts on Steller sea lion habitat
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would be insignificant and would not affect the conservation value of the critical habitat.
For humpback whales, seasonal feeding BIAs for spring MarchMay, summer JuneAugust, and fall SeptemberNovember are recognized in southeast Alaska Ferguson et al., 2015. It should be noted that the aforementioned designated critical habitat in the survey area was based in large part on the same information that informed an understanding of the BIAs.
Though the BIAs are not synonymous with critical habitat designated under the ESA, they were regarded by the humpback whale critical habitat review team as an important source of information and informative to their review of areas that meet the definition of critical habitat for humpback whales 86 FR 21082; April 21, 2021. The aforementioned southeast Alaska unit of designated critical habitat encompasses the BIAs, with the offshore and nearshore boundaries corresponding with the BIA boundary.
A separate feeding BIA is recognized in southeast Alaska for gray whales.
Once considered only a migratory pathway, the Gulf of Alaska is now known to provide foraging and overwintering habitat for ENP gray whales Ferguson et al., 2015. Based on the regular occurrence of feeding gray whales including repeat sightings of individuals across years off southeast Alaska, an area off of Sitka is recognized. The greatest densities of gray whales on the feeding area in southeast Alaska occur from May to November. However, this area is located to the north of the proposed survey area and would not be expected to be meaningfully impacted by the survey activities. A separate migratory BIA is recognized as extending along the continental shelf throughout the Gulf of Alaska. During their annual migration, most gray whales pass through the Gulf of Alaska in the fall November through January; southbound and again in the spring March through May;
northbound Ferguson et al., 2015.
Therefore, the planned survey would not be expected to impact gray whale migratory habitat due to the timing of the survey in late summer. No important behaviors of gray whales in either the feeding or migratory BIAs are expected to be affected. For more information on BIAs, please see Ferguson et al. 2015
or visit https oceannoise.noaa.gov/
biologically-important-areas.
Unusual Mortality Events UME
A UME is defined under the MMPA
as a stranding that is unexpected;
involves a significant die-off of any
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marine mammal population; and demands immediate response. For more information on UMEs, please visit:
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/marinemammal-unusual-mortality-events.
There is a currently ongoing UME
affecting gray whales throughout their migratory range.
Since January 1, 2019, elevated gray whale strandings have occurred along the west coast of North America from Mexico through Alaska. As of May 6, 2021, there have been a total of 454
whales reported in the event, with approximately 218 dead whales in Mexico, 218 whales in the United States 62 in California; 10 in Oregon; 53 in Washington, 93 in Alaska, and 18
whales in British Columbia, Canada. For the United States, the historical 18-year 5-month average JanMay is 14.8
whales for the four states for this same time-period. Several dead whales have been emaciated with moderate to heavy whale lice cyamid loads. Necropsies have been conducted on a subset of whales with additional findings of vessel strike in three whales and entanglement in one whale. In Mexico, 5055 percent of the free-ranging whales observed in the lagoons in winter have been reported as skinny compared to the annual average of 1012 percent skinny whales normally seen. The cause of the UME is as yet undetermined. For more information, please visit: www.fisheries.noaa.gov/
national/marine-life-distress/2019
2020-gray-whale-unusual-mortalityevent-along-west-coast-and.
Another recent, notable UME
involved large whales and occurred in the western Gulf of Alaska and off of British Columbia, Canada. Beginning in May 2015, elevated large whale mortalities primarily fin and humpback whales occurred in the areas around Kodiak Island, Afognak Island, Chirikof Island, the Semidi Islands, and the southern shoreline of the Alaska Peninsula. Although most carcasses have been non-retrievable as they were discovered floating and in a state of moderate to severe decomposition, the UME is likely attributable to ecological factors, i.e., the 2015 El Nino, warm water blob, and the Pacific Coast domoic acid bloom. The UME was closed in 2016. More information is available online at www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-life-distress/20152016-largewhale-unusual-mortality-event-westerngulf-alaska.
Marine Mammal Hearing Hearing is the most important sensory modality for marine mammals
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