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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 18, 2021 / Notices
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report must include the following information:
Time, date, and location latitude/
longitude of the first discovery and updated location information if known and applicable;
Species identification if known or description of the animals involved;
Condition of the animals including carcass condition if the animal is dead;
Observed behaviors of the animals, if alive;
If available, photographs or video footage of the animals; and General circumstances under which the animal was discovered.
Vessel strikeIn the event of a ship strike of a marine mammal by any vessel involved in the activities covered by the authorization, UAGI shall report the incident to OPR, NMFS and to the NMFS Alaska Regional Stranding Coordinator as soon as feasible. The report must include the following information:
Time, date, and location latitude/
longitude of the incident;
Vessels speed during and leading up to the incident;
Vessels course/heading and what operations were being conducted if applicable;
Status of all sound sources in use;
Description of avoidance measures/
requirements that were in place at the time of the strike and what additional measure were taken, if any, to avoid strike;
Environmental conditions e.g., wind speed and direction, Beaufort sea state, cloud cover, visibility immediately preceding the strike;
Species identification if known or description of the animals involved;
Estimated size and length of the animal that was struck;
Description of the behavior of the animal immediately preceding and following the strike;
If available, description of the presence and behavior of any other marine mammals present immediately preceding the strike;
Estimated fate of the animal e.g., dead, injured but alive, injured and moving, blood or tissue observed in the water, status unknown, disappeared;
and To the extent practicable, photographs or video footage of the animals.
Negligible Impact Analysis and Determination NMFS has defined negligible impact as an impact resulting from the specified activity that cannot be reasonably expected to, and is not
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reasonably likely to, adversely affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates of recruitment or survival 50 CFR 216.103. A negligible impact finding is based on the lack of likely adverse effects on annual rates of recruitment or survival i.e., populationlevel effects. An estimate of the number of takes alone is not enough information on which to base an impact determination. In addition to considering estimates of the number of marine mammals that might be taken through harassment, NMFS considers other factors, such as the likely nature of any responses e.g., intensity, duration, the context of any responses e.g., critical reproductive time or location, migration, as well as effects on habitat, and the likely effectiveness of the mitigation. We also assess the number, intensity, and context of estimated takes by evaluating this information relative to population status. Consistent with the 1989
preamble for NMFS implementing regulations 54 FR 40338; September 29, 1989, the impacts from other past and ongoing anthropogenic activities are incorporated into this analysis via their impacts on the environmental baseline e.g., as reflected in the regulatory status of the species, population size and growth rate where known, ongoing sources of human-caused mortality, or ambient noise levels.
To avoid repetition, our analysis applies to all species listed in Table 1, given that NMFS expects the anticipated effects of the planned geophysical survey to be similar in nature. Where there are meaningful differences between species or stocks, or groups of species, in anticipated individual responses to activities, impact of expected take on the population due to differences in population status, or impacts on habitat, NMFS has identified species-specific factors to inform the analysis.
NMFS does not anticipate that injury, serious injury or mortality will occur as a result of UAGIs planned survey, even in the absence of mitigation, and none will be authorized. Similarly, nonauditory physical effects, stranding, and vessel strike are not expected to occur.
Although a few incidents of Level A
harassment were predicted through the quantitative exposure estimation process see Estimated Take, NMFS has determined that this is not a realistic result due to the small estimated Level A harassment zones for the species no greater than approximately 50 m and the mitigation requirements, and no Level A harassment is authorized. These estimated zones are larger than what would realistically occur, as discussed
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in the Estimated Take section. Although no Level A harassment would be expected to occur even absent mitigation, the extended distance exclusion zones for bowhead whales further strengthen this conclusion.
We expect that takes would be in the form of short-term Level B behavioral harassment in the form of temporary avoidance of the area or decreased foraging if such activity were occurring, reactions that are considered to be of low severity and with no lasting biological consequences e.g., Southall et al., 2007, Ellison et al., 2012. The number of takes for bowhead whales is 0.02 percent of the population.
Marine mammal habitat may be impacted by elevated sound levels, but these impacts would be temporary. Prey species are mobile and are broadly distributed throughout the project area;
therefore, marine mammals that may be temporarily displaced during survey activities are expected to be able to resume foraging once they have moved away from areas with disturbing levels of underwater noise. Because of the relatively short duration 30 days and temporary nature of the disturbance, the availability of similar habitat and resources in the surrounding area, the impacts to marine mammals and the food sources that they utilize are not expected to cause significant or longterm consequences for individual marine mammals or their populations.
No BIAs, designated critical habitat, or other habitat of known significance would be impacted by the planned activities.
Negligible Impact Conclusions The survey would be of short duration 30 days of seismic operations, and the acoustic footprint of the survey would be small relative to the ranges of the marine mammals that would potentially be affected. Sound levels would increase in the marine environment in a relatively small area surrounding the vessel compared to the range of the marine mammals within the survey area. Short term exposures to survey operations are expected to only temporarily affect marine mammal behavior in the form of avoidance, and the potential for longer-term avoidance of important areas is limited. Short term exposures to survey operations are not likely to impact marine mammal behavior, and the potential for longerterm avoidance of important areas is limited.
The mitigation measures are expected to reduce the number and/or severity of takes by allowing for detection of marine mammals in the vicinity of the vessel by visual observers, and by
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