Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2023 / Notices 69623 

1 (Raum-Suryan et al.) p. 1. 

information collections, which helps us 

assess the impact of our information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. Public 

comments were previously requested 

via the Federal Register on June 23, 

2023 (88 FR 41081) during a 60-day 

comment period. This notice allows for 

an additional 30 days for public 

comments. 

Agency: National Oceanic & 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

Title: NOAA Marine Fisheries 

Advisory Committee Survey on Marine 

Mammal Deterrents. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–XXXX. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: New Information 

Collection. 

Number of Respondents: 15,000. 

Average Hours per Response: 5 

minutes. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,250. 

Needs and Uses: This is a request for 

a new collection of information. 

A recent summary of a series of 

marine mammal deterrent workshops by 

NOAA Fisheries states, ‘‘under a recent 

proposed rule, NOAA Fisheries 

developed guidelines for deterring 

marine mammals under its jurisdiction, 

and recommended specific measures for 

species listed under the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA). The guidelines focus 

on how to safely use deterrents to avoid 

injuring or killing marine mammals. 

However, evaluation of the efficacy of 

each deterrent was beyond the scope of 

the rulemaking process, and available 

data on deterrent effectiveness is 

lacking.’’ 1

Consequently, the Protected 

Resources Subcommittee of the Marine 

Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) 

was asked to help NOAA Fisheries 

narrow down the scope for assessing the 

effectiveness of the marine mammal 

deterrents listed in the proposed 

guidelines and create a decision-making 

process to prioritize areas to begin 

characterizing the effectiveness. To 

achieve this, the Subcommittee plans to 

rank relative risk of expected losses 

from interactions with marine mammals 

by various user groups nationwide, 

which will identify where the biggest 

impacts of marine mammals are likely 

to be occurring. The information for the 

relative risk and expected loss analysis 

will be generated through a survey of 

five user groups (commercial fishermen, 

recreational fishermen, tribal fishermen 

(inclusive of tribal nations and other 

coastal indigenous populations), 

aquaculture operators, and waterfront 

property managers (e.g. harbormasters 

and harbor facility assistants)). 

Affected Public: Individuals/ 

Households, Private Sector, State, Local, 

or Tribal Government. 

Frequency: One-time use. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: The Secretary of 

Commerce approved the establishment 

of the Marine Fisheries Advisory 

Committee (MAFAC or Committee) on 

December 28, 1970. The Committee was 

initially chartered on February 17, 1971, 

and has been renewed periodically 

under the Federal Advisory Committee 

Act, as amended (FACA), 5 U.S.C., App. 

It has been determined the Committee’s 

continuance is in the public interest in 

accordance with the duties and the laws 

imposed on the Department. The 

Committee advises the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary) on all living 

marine resource matters that are the 

responsibility of the Department of 

Commerce. Specifically, the Committee 

draws on the expertise of its members, 

its task forces, and other appropriate 

sources, such as the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration’s 

(NOAA) National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), to evaluate and 

recommend priorities and needed 

changes in national program direction. 

Its objective is to ensure the Nation’s 

living marine resource policies and 

programs meet the needs of commercial 

and recreational fishermen, aquaculture 

activities, and environmental, 

consumer, academic, tribal, 

governmental, and other national 

interests. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view the 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day 

Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or 

by using the search function and 

entering the title of the collection. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22322 Filed 10–5–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD377] 

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 

Incidental to Geophysical Surveys 

Related to Oil and Gas Activities in the 

Gulf of Mexico 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of issuance of letter of 

authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), as amended, its implementing 

regulations, and NMFS’ MMPA 

Regulations for Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Geophysical 

Surveys Related to Oil and Gas 

Activities in the Gulf of Mexico, 

notification is hereby given that a Letter 

of Authorization (LOA) has been issued 

to Cantium, LLC (Cantium) for the take 

of marine mammals incidental to 

geophysical survey activity in the Gulf 

of Mexico. 

DATES: The LOA is effective from 

October 1, 2023 through December 31, 

2023. 

ADDRESSES: The LOA, LOA request, and 

supporting documentation are available 

online at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

incidental-take-authorization-oil-andgas-industry-geophysical-surveyactivity-gulf-mexico. In case of problems 

accessing these documents, please call 

the contact listed below (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rachel Wachtendonk, Office of 

Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 427– 

8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the 

MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct 

the Secretary of Commerce 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 

authorization is provided to the public 

for review. 

An authorization for incidental 

takings shall be granted if NMFS finds 


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69624 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2023 / Notices 

1For purposes of acoustic exposure modeling, the 

GOM was divided into seven zones. Zone 1 is not 

included in the geographic scope of the rule. 

2For purposes of acoustic exposure modeling, 

seasons include Winter (December–March) and 

Summer (April–November). 

that the taking will have a negligible 

impact on the species or stock(s), will 

not have an unmitigable adverse impact 

on the availability of the species or 

stock(s) for subsistence uses (where 

relevant), and if the permissible 

methods of taking and requirements 

pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring 

and reporting of such takings are set 

forth. NMFS has defined ‘‘negligible 

impact’’ in 50 CFR 216.103 as an impact 

resulting from the specified activity that 

cannot be reasonably expected to, and is 

not reasonably likely to, adversely affect 

the species or stock through effects on 

annual rates of recruitment or survival. 

Except with respect to certain 

activities not pertinent here, the MMPA 

defines ‘‘harassment’’ as: any act of 

pursuit, torment, or annoyance which (i) 

has the potential to injure a marine 

mammal or marine mammal stock in the 

wild (Level A harassment), or (ii) has 

the potential to disturb a marine 

mammal or marine mammal stock in the 

wild by causing disruption of behavioral 

patterns, including, but not limited to, 

migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, 

feeding, or sheltering (Level B 

harassment). 

On January 19, 2021, we issued a final 

rule with regulations to govern the 

unintentional taking of marine 

mammals incidental to geophysical 

survey activities conducted by oil and 

gas industry operators, and those 

persons authorized to conduct activities 

on their behalf (collectively ‘‘industry 

operators’’), in U.S. waters of the Gulf of 

Mexico (GOM) over the course of 5 

years (86 FR 5322, January 19, 2021). 

The rule was based on our findings that 

the total taking from the specified 

activities over the 5-year period will 

have a negligible impact on the affected 

species or stock(s) of marine mammals 

and will not have an unmitigable 

adverse impact on the availability of 

those species or stocks for subsistence 

uses. The rule became effective on April 

19, 2021. 

Our regulations at 50 CFR 217.180 et 

seq. allow for the issuance of LOAs to 

industry operators for the incidental 

take of marine mammals during 

geophysical survey activities and 

prescribe the permissible methods of 

taking and other means of effecting the 

least practicable adverse impact on 

marine mammal species or stocks and 

their habitat (often referred to as 

mitigation), as well as requirements 

pertaining to the monitoring and 

reporting of such taking. Under 50 CFR 

217.186(e), issuance of an LOA shall be 

based on a determination that the level 

of taking will be consistent with the 

findings made for the total taking 

allowable under these regulations and a 

determination that the amount of take 

authorized under the LOA is of no more 

than small numbers. 

Summary of Request and Analysis 

Cantium plans to conduct a 3- 

Dimensional (3D) ocean bottom node 

(OBN) survey as part of ancillary 

activities associated with Cantium’s 

Federal lease blocks in the Bay 

Marchand area. See Section G of the 

LOA application for a map of the area. 

Cantium anticipates using a single 

source vessel, towing two airguns with 

a total volume of 300 cubic inches (in3). 

Please see Cantium’s application for 

additional detail. 

Consistent with the preamble to the 

final rule, the survey effort proposed by 

Cantium in its LOA request was used to 

develop LOA-specific take estimates 

based on the acoustic exposure 

modeling results described in the 

preamble (86 FR 5398, January 19, 

2021). In order to generate the 

appropriate take numbers for 

authorization, the following information 

was considered: (1) survey type; (2) 

location (by modeling zone 1); (3) 

number of days; and (4) season.2 The 

acoustic exposure modeling performed 

in support of the rule provides 24-hour 

exposure estimates for each species, 

specific to each modeled survey type in 

each zone and season. 

Summary descriptions of modeled 

survey geometries (i.e., 2D, 3D NAZ, 3D 

WAZ, Coil) are available in the 

preamble to the proposed rule (83 FR 

29220, June 22, 2018). Surveys using a 

single (90 in3) airgun and highresolution geophysical sources were 

also modeled. The single airgun was 

selected as the best available proxy 

survey type for Cantium’s survey effort. 

Although Cantium is using two airguns, 

the take numbers authorized in the LOA 

based on use of the single airgun proxy 

are substantially similar to those 

anticipated to occur through use of the 

planned sound source (two airguns, 300 

in3) in the planned survey location. The 

acoustic exposure modeling necessarily 

averages fine-scale information about 

marine mammal distribution over the 

large area of each modeling zone. As the 

survey will take place in very shallow 

water (30–50 feet (ft); 9–15 meters (m)) 

compared to the acoustic exposure 

modeling, where few species are likely 

to occur, we have determined that the 

single airgun proxy is most 

representative of the effort planned by 

Cantium in terms of predicted Level B 

harassment exposures. 

The survey will take place over 

approximately 45 days, within Zone 2 

and adjacent state waters. The seasonal 

distribution of survey days is not known 

in advance. Therefore, the take 

estimates for each species are based on 

the season that produces the greater 

value. 

Based on the results of our analysis, 

NMFS has determined that the level of 

taking expected for this survey and 

authorized through the LOA is 

consistent with the findings made for 

the total taking allowable under the 

regulations. See Table 1 in this notice 

and Table 9 of the rule (86 FR 5322, 

January 19, 2021). 

Small Numbers Determination 

Under the GOM rule, NMFS may not 

authorize incidental take of marine 

mammals in an LOA if it will exceed 

‘‘small numbers.’’ In short, when an 

acceptable estimate of the individual 

marine mammals taken is available, if 

the estimated number of individual 

animals taken is up to, but not greater 

than, one-third of the best available 

abundance estimate, NMFS will 

determine that the numbers of marine 

mammals taken of a species or stock are 

small. For more information please see 

NMFS’ discussion of the MMPA’s small 

numbers requirement provided in the 

final rule (86 FR 5438, January 19, 

2021). 

The take numbers for authorization 

are determined as described above in 

the Summary of Request and Analysis 

section. Subsequently, the total 

incidents of harassment for each species 

are multiplied by scalar ratios to 

produce a derived product that better 

reflects the number of individuals likely 

to be taken within a survey (as 

compared to the total number of 

instances of take), accounting for the 

likelihood that some individual marine 

mammals may be taken on more than 1 

day (see 86 FR 5404, January 19, 2021). 

The output of this scaling, where 

appropriate, is incorporated into 

adjusted total take estimates that are the 

basis for NMFS’ small numbers 

determinations, as depicted in Table 1. 

This product is used by NMFS in 

making the necessary small numbers 

determinations through comparison 

with the best available abundance 

estimates (see discussion at 86 FR 5391, 

January 19, 2021). For this comparison, 

NMFS’ approach is to use the maximum 

theoretical population, determined 

through review of current stock 

assessment reports (SAR; https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/marineVerDate Sep<11>2014 17:00 Oct 05, 2023 Jkt 262001 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\06OCN1.SGM 06OCN1

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2023 / Notices 69625 

mammal-stock-assessments) and modelpredicted abundance information 

(https://seamap.env.duke.edu/models/ 

Duke/GOM/). For the latter, for taxa 

where a density surface model could be 

produced, we use the maximum mean 

seasonal (i.e., 3-month) abundance 

prediction for purposes of comparison 

as a precautionary smoothing of monthto-month fluctuations and in 

consideration of a corresponding lack of 

data in the literature regarding seasonal 

distribution of marine mammals in the 

GOM. Information supporting the small 

numbers determinations is provided in 

Table 1. 

TABLE 1—TAKE ANALYSIS

Species Authorized 

take Scaled take 1 Abundance 2 Percent abundance 

Rice’s whale ..................................................................................................... 0 n/a 51 n/a 

Sperm whale .................................................................................................... 0 n/a 2,207 n/a 

Kogia spp ......................................................................................................... 3 0 n/a 4,373 n/a 

Beaked whales ................................................................................................ 0 n/a 3,768 n/a 

Rough-toothed dolphin .................................................................................... 23 6.7 4,853 0.1 

Bottlenose dolphin ........................................................................................... 1,389 398.7 176,108 0.2 

Clymene dolphin .............................................................................................. 0 n/a 11,895 n/a 

Atlantic spotted dolphin ................................................................................... 301 86.3 74,785 0.1 

Pantropical spotted dolphin ............................................................................. 0 n/a 102,361 n/a 

Spinner dolphin ................................................................................................ 0 n/a 25,114 n/a

Striped dolphin ................................................................................................. 0 n/a 5,229 n/a

Fraser’s dolphin ............................................................................................... 0 n/a 1,665 n/a 

Risso’s dolphin ................................................................................................. 0 n/a 3,764 n/a

Melon-headed whale ....................................................................................... 0 n/a 7,003 n/a 

Pygmy killer whale ........................................................................................... 0 n/a 2,126 n/a 

False killer whale ............................................................................................. 3 0 n/a 3,204 n/a 

Killer whale ...................................................................................................... 0 n/a 267 n/a

Short-finned pilot whale ................................................................................... 0 n/a 1,981 n/a 

1Scalar ratios were applied to ‘‘Authorized Take’’ values as described at 86 FR 5322, 5404 (January 19, 2021) to derive scaled take numbers 

shown here. 2Best abundance estimate. For most taxa, the best abundance estimate for purposes of comparison with take estimates is considered here to 

be the model-predicted abundance (Roberts et al., 2016). For those taxa where a density surface model predicting abundance by month was 

produced, the maximum mean seasonal abundance was used. For those taxa where abundance is not predicted by month, only mean annual 

abundance is available. For Rice’s whale and the killer whale, the larger estimated SAR abundance estimate is used. 3 Modeled take of two decreased to zero. For false killer whales, use of the exposure modeling produces results that are smaller than the average GOM group size (i.e., estimated exposure value of 2, relative to assumed average group size of 28) (Maze-Foley and Mullin, 2006). NMFS’ 

typical practice is to increase exposure estimates to the assumed average group size for a species in order to ensure that, if the species is encountered, exposures will not exceed the authorized take number. However, given the depth of the survey area (9–15 m) in relation to the 

depths this species is normally sighted (>200 m), NMFS has determined that is unlikely the species would be encountered at all. As a result, in 

this case NMFS has not authorized take for this species. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of Cantium’s proposed survey 

activity described in its LOA 

application and the anticipated take of 

marine mammals, NMFS finds that 

small numbers of marine mammals will 

be taken relative to the affected species 

or stock sizes (i.e., less than one-third of 

the best available abundance estimate) 

and therefore the taking is of no more 

than small numbers. 

Authorization 

NMFS has determined that the level 

of taking for this LOA request is 

consistent with the findings made for 

the total taking allowable under the 

incidental take regulations and that the 

amount of take authorized under the 

LOA is of no more than small numbers. 

Accordingly, we have issued an LOA to 

Cantium authorizing the take of marine 

mammals incidental to its geophysical 

survey activity, as described above. 

Dated: October 2, 2023. 

Catherine Marzin, 

Deputy Director, Office of Protected 

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22257 Filed 10–5–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM 

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR 

SEVERELY DISABLED 

Procurement List; Proposed Deletions 

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From 

People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled. 

ACTION: Proposed deletions from the 

Procurement List. 

SUMMARY: The Committee is proposing 

to delete product(s) from the 

Procurement List that were furnished by 

nonprofit agencies employing persons 

who are blind or have other severe 

disabilities. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before: November 05, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Committee for Purchase 

From People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled, 355 E Street SW, Suite 325, 

Washington, DC 20024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information or to submit 

comments contact: Michael R. 

Jurkowski, telephone: (703) 785–6404, 

or email CMTEFedReg@AbilityOne.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice is published pursuant to 41 

U.S.C. 8503 (a)(2) and 41 CFR 51–2.3. Its 

purpose is to provide interested persons 

an opportunity to submit comments on 

the proposed actions. 

Deletions 

The following product(s) are proposed 

for deletion from the Procurement List: 

Product(s) 

NSN(s)—Product Name(s): 

7510–01–600–8023—Dated 2023 12-Month 

2-Sided Laminated Wall Planner, 24′′ x 

37′′ 

7510–01–600–7581—Wall Calendar, Dated 

2023, Wire Bound w/hanger, 15.5′′ x 22′′ 


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