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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 106 / Friday, June 4, 2021 / Proposed Rules
mortality. PBR and annual M/SI values considered in Table 19 reflect the most
recent information available i.e., draft 2020 SARs.

TABLE 19SUMMARY INFORMATION RELATED TO NEFSC PROPOSED ANNUAL TAKE BY MORTALITY OR SERIOUS INJURY
AUTHORIZATION, 20212026
Stock abundance
Proposed NEFSC M/
SI take annual
Canadian East Coast
W. North Atlantic

2,591
35,493
93,233
536,016

1
0.6
0.6
0.4

172,974

offshore stock
N. migratory stock
S. migratory stock
GoM/Bay of Fundy
W. North Atlantic

39,921
62,851
6,639
3,751
95,543
75,834
27,131

Species
Stock
Minke whale
Rissos dolphin
Atlantic white-sided dolphin White-beaked common dolphin.
Short-beaked common dolphin.
Atlantic spotted dolphin
bottlenose dolphin
bottlenose dolphin
bottlenose dolphin
Harbor porpoise
Harbor seal
Gray seal

All but one stocks that may potentially be taken by M/SI fall below the insignificance threshold i.e., 10
percent of residual PBR. The annual proposed take of grey seals is above the insignificance threshold.
Stocks With M/SI Below the Insignificance Threshold As noted above, for a species or stock with incidental M/SI less than 10
percent of residual PBR, we consider M/
SI from the specified activities to represent an insignificant incremental increase in ongoing anthropogenic M/SI
that alone i.e., in the absence of any other take and barring any other unusual circumstances will clearly not adversely affect annual rates of recruitment and survival. In this case, as shown in Table 19, the following species or stocks have proposed M/SI
from NEFSC fisheries research below their insignificance threshold: Minke whale Canadian east coast; Rissos dolphin; the Western North Atlantic stocks of Atlantic white-sided dolphin;
White-beaked common dolphin; Shortbeaked common dolphin; Atlantic spotted dolphin; bottlenose dolphin offshore and Northern migratory;
harbor porpoise Gulf of Marine/Bay of Fundy, and harbor seal Western North Atlantic.
For these stocks with authorized M/SI
below the insignificance threshold, there are no other known factors, information, or unusual circumstances that indicate anticipated M/SI below the insignificance threshold could have adverse effects on annual rates of recruitment or survival and they are not discussed further.

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Annual M/
SI

SEFSC
take by M/
SI

Navy AFTT take by M/SI

170
303
544
4,153

10.6
54.3
26
0

0
0.2
0 0

0.14
0 1.4
0

159.26
248.5
516.6
4,153

0.63
0.24
0.12
0.01

1.4

1,452

399

0.8

0

1,052.2

0.13

0.4
1.6
1.6
0.2
1.4
5 5

320
519
48
23
851
2,006
1,389

0
28
12.221.5
0 to 18.3
217
350
47,296

0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.2
0.2
0.2

0
0 0
0 0
0 0

319.2
490.2
25.735
3.922.2
633.8
1,656
45,907

0.13
0.33 <1 <7.870
0.22
0.30

PBR

Stocks With M/SI Above the Insignificance Threshold There is one stock for which we propose to authorize take where the annual rate of M/SI is above the 10
percent insignificance threshold: The western North Atlantic stock of gray seals. For this species, we explain below why we have preliminarily determined the proposed take is not expected or likely to adversely affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates of recruitment or survival.
At first glance, the annual rate of mortality of gray seals exceeds PBR in absence of any authorized take proposed here or in other LOAs. However, the size of population reported in the SAR
and consequently the PBR value is estimated separately for the portion of the population in Canada versus the U.S., and mainly reflects the size of the breeding population in each respective country. However, the annual estimated human-caused mortality and serious injury values in the SAR reflects both U.S. and Canada M/SI. For the period 20142018, the average annual estimated human-caused mortality and serious injury to gray seals in the U.S.
and Canada was 4,729 953 U.S./3,776
Canada per year. Therefore, The U.S.
portion of 20132017 average annual human-caused mortality and serious injury during 20142018 in U.S. waters does not exceed the portion of PBR in of the U.S. waters portion of the stocks but is still high approximately 68
percent of PBR.
In U.S. waters, the number of pupping sites has increased from 1 in 1988 to 9
in 2019, and are located in Maine and Massachusetts Wood et al. 2019. Mean rates of increase in the number of pups born at various times since 1988 at 4 of
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r-PBR

Total M/SI
take r-PBR
%

the more frequently surveyed pupping sites Muskeget, Monomoy, Seal, and Green Islands ranged from 0.2
percent 95% CI: 2.31.9% to 26.3
percent 95% CI: 21.631.4% Wood et al. 2019. These high rates of increase provide further support that seals from other areas are continually supplementing the breeding population in U.S. waters. From 19882019, the estimated mean rate of increase in the number of pups born was 12.8 percent on Muskeget Island, 26.3 percent on Monomoy Island, 11.5 percent on Seal Island, and 0.2 percent on Green Island Wood et al. 2019. These rates only reflect new recruits to the population and do not reflect changes in total population growth resulting from Canadian seals migrating to the region.
Overall, the total population of gray seals in Canada was estimated to be increasing by 4.4 percent per year from 19602016 Hammill et al. 2017. The status of the gray seal population relative to OSP in U.S. Atlantic EEZ
waters is unknown, but the stocks abundance appears to be increasing in both Canadian and U.S. waters. For these reasons, the issuance of the proposed M/SI take is not likely to affect annual rates of recruitment of survival.
Acoustic Effects As described in greater depth previously, the NEFSCs use of active acoustic sources has the likely potential to result in no greater than Level B
behavioral harassment of marine mammals. Level A harassment is not an anticipated outcome of exposure, and we are not proposing to authorize it.
Marine mammals are expected to have short-term, minor behavioral reactions to exposure such as moving away from the source. Some marine mammals e.g.,
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