69170 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Notices 

available scientific information in 

assessing impacts to marine mammals 

and determined that the surveys have 

the potential to impact marine mammals 

through behavioral effects and auditory 

masking. NMFS agrees that noise 

pollution in marine waters is an issue 

and is affecting marine mammals, 

including their ability to communicate 

when noise reaches certain thresholds. 

However, NMFS does not expect that 

the generally short-term, intermittent, 

and transitory marine site 

characterization survey activities 

planned by Orsted will create 

conditions of acute or chronic acoustic 

exposure leading to long-term 

physiological impacts in marine 

mammals. 

Determinations 

NMFS has concluded that there is no 

new information suggesting that our 

analysis or findings should change from 

those reached for the initial IHA. This 

includes consideration of the 2022 SAR 

estimated abundance of the North 

Atlantic right whale stock. Specifically, 

NMFS is proposing to authorize 17 takes 

of North Atlantic right whales by Level 

B harassment only, and the impacts 

resulting from the project’s activities are 

neither reasonably expected nor 

reasonably likely to adversely affect the 

stock through effects on annual rates of 

recruitment or survival. Additionally, 

approximately 5 percent of the stock 

abundance is proposed for take by Level 

B harassment. 

Based on the information and analysis 

contained here and in the referenced 

documents, including the consideration 

of the final 2022 SARs, NMFS has 

determined the following: (1) the 

required mitigation measures will effect 

the least practicable impact on marine 

mammal species or stocks and their 

habitat; (2) the authorized takes will 

have a negligible impact on the affected 

marine mammal species or stocks; (3) 

the authorized takes represent small 

numbers of marine mammals relative to 

the affected stock abundances; (4) 

Orsted’s activities will not have an 

unmitigable adverse impact on taking 

for subsistence purposes as no relevant 

subsistence uses of marine mammals are 

implicated by this action; and (5) 

appropriate monitoring and reporting 

requirements are included. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

This action is consistent with 

categories of activities identified in 

Categorical Exclusion B4 (incidental 

take authorizations with no anticipated 

serious injury or mortality) of the 

Companion Manual for NOAA 

Administrative Order 216–6A, which do 

not individually or cumulatively have 

the potential for significant impacts on 

the quality of the human environment 

and for which we have not identified 

any extraordinary circumstances that 

would preclude this categorical 

exclusion. Accordingly, NMFS 

determined that the issuance of the 

initial IHA qualified to be categorically 

excluded from further NEPA review. 

NMFS has determined that the 

application of this categorical exclusion 

remains appropriate for this Renewal 

IHA. 

Endangered Species Act 

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal 

agency insure that any action it 

authorizes, funds, or carries out is not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of any endangered or 

threatened species or result in the 

destruction or adverse modification of 

designated critical habitat. To ensure 

ESA compliance for the issuance of 

IHAs, NMFS consults internally, in this 

case with the NMFS Greater Atlantic 

Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species. 

NMFS Office of Protected Resources 

has authorized the incidental take of 

four species of marine mammals which 

are listed under the ESA (the North 

Atlantic right, fin, sei, and sperm whale) 

and has determined that these activities 

fall within the scope of activities 

analyzed in GARFO’s programmatic 

consultation regarding geophysical 

surveys along the U.S. Atlantic coast in 

the three Atlantic Renewable Energy 

Regions (completed June 29, 2021; 

revised September 2021). The Renewal 

IHA provides no new information about 

the effects of the action, nor does it 

change the extent of effects of the 

action, or any other basis to require 

reinitiation of consultation with NMFS 

GARFO; therefore, the ESA consultation 

has been satisfied for the initial IHA and 

remains valid for the Renewal IHA. 

Renewal IHA 

As a result of these determinations, 

NMFS has issued a renewal IHA to 

Orsted for conducting marine site 

characterization surveys off New York 

to Massachusetts (Lease Areas OCS–A 

0486, 0487, and 0500), effective from 

October 6, 2023 through October 5, 

2024, provided the previously described 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements are incorporated. 

Dated: September 29, 2023. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22120 Filed 10–4–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD449] 

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council (MAFMC); Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The MAFMC’s Spiny Dogfish 

Monitoring Committee will meet via 

webinar to develop recommendations 

for future Spiny Dogfish specifications. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Monday, November 6, 2023, from 12:30 

p.m. to 3 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held 

via webinar. Connection information 

will be posted to the MAFMC calendar 

prior to the meeting at www.mafmc.org. 

Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, 800 N State 

Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; 

telephone: (302) 674–2331; 

www.mafmc.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, telephone: (302) 

526–5255. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Spiny 

Dogfish Monitoring Committee will 

meet to review options for future 

specifications and management 

measures, and make any appropriate 

recommendations. 

Special Accommodations 

The meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aid should be directed to 

Shelley Spedden, (302) 526–5251, at 

least 5 days prior to the meeting date. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: September 29, 2023. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22124 Filed 10–4–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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