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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 134 / Friday, July 16, 2021 / Proposed Rules
NMFS proposes to authorize 22 takes by Level B harassment, 14 takes by behavioral disturbance, 7 takes by TTS, and 1 take by PTS for fin whales Table 31. Regarding the magnitude of takes by Level B harassment TTS and behavioral disruption, the number of estimated total instances of take compared to the abundance is less than 1 percent Table 31. Regarding the severity of those individual takes by Level B harassment by behavioral disturbance, we have explained that the duration of any exposure is expected to be between seconds and minutes i.e., short i.e., of a low level. Regarding the severity of takes by TTS, they are expected to be low-level, of short duration not at a level that will impact reproduction or survival.
Altogether, fin whales are listed as endangered, with no designated critical habitat or biologically important areas in the PMSR Study Area, and the CA/
OR/WA stock is increasing. Our analysis suggests that a very small portion of the stock will be taken and disturbed at a low level, with those individuals disturbed on likely one day within a year. No serious injury or mortality is anticipated or proposed for authorization. This low magnitude and severity of harassment effects is not expected to result in impacts on the reproduction or survival of any individuals, let alone have impacts on annual rates of recruitment or survival.
Therefore, the total take will not adversely affect this species through impacts on annual rates of recruitment or survival. For these reasons, we have preliminarily determined, in consideration of all of the effects of the Navys activities combined, that the proposed take will have a negligible impact on fin whales.
Gray whale Eastern North Pacific stockThe Gray whale Eastern North Pacific stock is not listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA and has an increasing population trend. There is an active UME for gray whales off the West Coast. The Eastern North Pacific population of gray whales that migrate along the West Coast has declined about 24 percent since 2016. It now stands at an estimated 20,580 whales Stellar and Weller 2021. That is similar to previous fluctuations in the Eastern North Pacific population that has since recovered from the days of whaling. The decline coincides with the UME declared in 2019 and resembles a similar 23 percent decline documented after a UME 20
years earlier, in 19992000. The gray whale population rebounded following that previous UME to greater numbers than before. The continuing change in gray whale numbers suggests that large-

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scale fluctuations of this nature are not rare. The observed declines in abundance appear to represent shortterm events that have not resulted in any detectable longer-term impacts on the population. We do not anticipate any mortality or impacts on reproduction or survival of any individuals, and given the low magnitude and severity of effects from Level B harassment only, even with the UME, they will not result in impacts on individual reproduction or survival, much less annual rates of recruitment or survival. Therefore, population-level effects to gray whales from the Navys activities despite the UME are not anticipated.
Four designated biologically important areas for migration for gray whales Calambokidis et al., 2015
overlap with the PMSR Study Area and are active migration areas from October through July, although each individual area has its own specific date range depending on what portion of the northbound or southbound migration it is meant to cover. Gray whales would cross the PMSR Study Area twice a year during their annual southbound and northbound migrations. Navy testing and training activities that use explosives could occur year round within the PMSR Study Area, but generally they would occur farther offshore than the shallow-water, nearshore habitat generally preferred by gray whales during their migration. In an early study investigating the behavior of migrating gray whales exposed to an impulsive source in their migration path, a startle response was observed in 42 percent of the cases, but the change in behavior, when it occurred, did not persist Malme et al., 1984; Malme et al., 1988; Richardson, 1995. If a gray whale were to react to sound from an explosion, it may pause its migration until the noise ceases or moves, or it may choose an alternate route around the location of the sound source if the source was directly in the whales migratory path. Even if some small number of gray whale takes occurred in these BIAs in the form of disrupted feeding behaviors or traveling for migration, the short-term nature of the anticipated takes from these activities, combined with the likelihood that they would not occur on more than one day for any individual within a year, mean that they are not expected to impact the reproduction or survival of any individuals.
NMFS proposes to authorize 14 takes by Level B harassment, 9 takes by behavioral disturbance and 5 takes by TTS for gray whales Table 31.
Regarding the magnitude of takes by
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Level B harassment TTS and behavioral disruption, the number of estimated total instances of take compared to the abundance is less than 1 percent Table 31. Regarding the severity of those individual takes by Level B harassment by behavioral disturbance, we have explained that the duration of any exposure is expected to be between minutes and hours i.e., relatively short i.e., of a moderate or lower level, less likely to evoke a severe response.
Regarding the severity of takes by TTS, they are expected to be low-level, of short duration not at a level that will impact reproduction or survival.
Altogether, gray whales Eastern North Pacific stock are not listed under the ESA and the population is increasing. Our analysis suggests that a very small portion of the stock will be taken and disturbed at a low level, with those individuals disturbed on likely one day within a year. No Level A
harassment, serious injury, or mortality is anticipated or proposed for authorization. This low magnitude and severity of harassment effects is not expected to result in impacts on the reproduction or survival of any individuals, either alone or in combination with the effects of the UME, let alone have impacts on annual rates of recruitment or survival.
Therefore, the total take will not adversely affect this species through impacts on annual rates of recruitment or survival. For these reasons, we have preliminarily determined, in consideration of all of the effects of the Navys activities combined, that the proposed take will have a negligible impact on gray whales.
Minke whaleMinke whale is not listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA and there are no known biologically important areas identified for these species in the PMSR Study Area. The CA/OR/WA stock occurs in the PMSR Study Area with no known population trend.
NMFS proposes to authorize 3 takes by Level B harassment, 2 takes by behavioral disturbance and 1 take by TTS for minke whales Table 31.
Regarding the magnitude of takes by Level B harassment TTS and behavioral disruption, the number of estimated total instances of take compared to the abundance is less than 1 percent Table 31. Regarding the severity of those individual takes by Level B harassment by behavioral disturbance, we have explained that the duration of any exposure is expected to be between minutes and hours i.e., relatively short i.e., of a moderate or lower level, less likely to evoke a severe response.
Regarding the severity of takes by TTS,
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