Je veux savoir à propos de…

46182

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 18, 2021 / Notices
University of Alaska Geophysics Institute UAGI to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment, marine mammals during geophysical surveys in the Arctic Ocean. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation NSF.
DATES: This Authorization is effective for one year, from August 11, 2021
through August 10, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Corcoran, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 301 4278401. Electronic copies of the application and supporting documents, as well as a list of the references cited in this document, may be obtained online at: https
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/
incidental-take-authorizations-undermarine-mammal-protection-act. In case of problems accessing these documents please call the contact listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES

Background The MMPA prohibits the take of marine mammals, with certain exceptions. sections 101a5A and D
of the MMPA 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.
direct the Secretary of Commerce as delegated to NMFS to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity other than commercial fishing within a specified geographical region if certain findings are made and either regulations are issued or, if the taking is limited to harassment, a notice of a proposed incidental take authorization may be provided to the public for review.
Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or stocks and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or stocks for taking for subsistence uses where relevant. Further, NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the affected species or stocks and their habitat, paying particular attention to rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar significance, and on the availability of the species or stocks for taking for certain subsistence uses referred to in shorthand as mitigation; and requirements
VerDate Sep<11>2014

17:34 Aug 17, 2021

Jkt 253001

pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of the takings.
The definitions of all applicable MMPA statutory terms cited above are included in the relevant sections below.
Summary of Request On February 12, 2021, NMFS received a request from UAGI for an IHA to take marine mammals incidental to a geophysical survey in the Arctic Ocean.
The application was deemed adequate and complete on April 6, 2021. UAGIs request is for take of 13 species of marine mammals, by Level B
harassment only. No Level A
harassment is anticipated. Neither UAGI
nor NMFS expects serious injury or mortality to result from this activity.
Therefore, an IHA is appropriate.
Description of Proposed Activity Overview Researchers at UAGI, with funding from NSF, plan to conduct a seismic survey from the Research Vessel R/V
Sikuliaq in the Arctic Ocean to document the structure and stratigraphy of the Chukchi Borderland and adjacent Canada basin see Figure 1. The proposed activity is planned to take place in late summer 2021 August/
September with a total of 30 days of data acquisition. The survey will include both high-energy and lowenergy components. High-energy ocean bottom seismometer OBS refraction surveys will use a 6-airgun, 3,120 cubic inch in3 array and consist of 12
percent of total survey effort henceforth referred to as high-energy survey. Lowenergy multi-channel seismic MCS
reflection surveys will use a 2-airgun array with a total discharge volume of 1040 in3 and consist of 88 percent of total survey effort henceforth referred to as low-energy survey.
Dates and Duration The activity will occur between August and September, 2021. The activity is planned to occur for 45 days total, with 30 days dedicated to seismic data acquisition with 24-hours a day operations, 8 days devoted to transit and 7 days used for equipment deployment and recovery.
Specific Geographic Region The surveys will occur within 73.5
81.0 N, 139.5168 W 300 kilometer
PO 00000

Frm 00009

Fmt 4703

Sfmt 4703

km north of Utqiagvik. Representative survey track lines can be seen in Figure 1. Some deviation in track lines, including the order of survey operations, could be necessary for reasons such as science drivers, poor data quality, inclement weather, or mechanical issues with the research vessel and/or equipment. Thus, the track lines could occur anywhere within the coordinates noted above and within the study area. Four percent of the surveys will occur within the U.S.
Exclusive Economic Zone EEZ with the remaining part of the survey occurring beyond the EEZ. The activity will take place in depths ranging from 2004,000 meters m. The R/V Sikuliaq would likely leave from and return to Nome, AK.
The low-energy survey activity will begin 300 km from the Alaska coastline North of Utqiagvik and extend 800
km north from the initial survey site i.e., the survey would occur 3001,100
km from the Alaska coastline. The high-energy survey activity will only occur 530 km from the coastline and occur only in the northeastern part of the survey area See Figure 1. Eighty percent of the total survey will occur in deep waters >1,000 m with the remainder of the survey occurring in intermediate depth waters 100
1,000m; no surveying will occur in waters <100 m deep. All high-energy surveys 680 km total will occur in deep waters, while 67 percent of lowenergy surveys will occur in deep waters 3,981 km. The remainder of low-energy surveys 1,189 km or 23
percent will occur in intermediate depth waters.
A detailed description of the planned geophysical survey project is provided in the Federal Register notice for the proposed IHA 86 FR 28787; May 28, 2021. Since that time, no changes have been made to the planned survey activities. Therefore, a detailed description is not provided here. Please refer to that Federal Register notice for the description of the specified activity.
Mitigation, monitoring, and reporting measures are described in detail later in this document please see Mitigation and Monitoring and Reporting.
BILLING CODE 351022P

E:FRFM18AUN1.SGM

18AUN1