[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 37 (Monday, February 26, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 8354]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3242]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 011107D]


Incidental Take of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals 
Incidental to Conducting Precision Strike Weapons Testing and Training 
by Eglin Air Force Base in the Gulf of Mexico

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of issuance of a letter of authorization.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act (MMPA), as amended, notification is hereby given that a letter of 
authorization (LOA) to take four species of marine mammals, by 
harassment, incidental to testing and training during Precision Strike 
Weapons (PSW) tests in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), a military readiness 
activity, has been issued to Eglin Air Force Base (AFB).

DATES: This authorization is effective from February 20, 2007, through 
February 19, 2008.

ADDRESSES: The application and LOA are available for review in the 
Permits, Conservation, and Education Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 or by 
contacting one of the individuals mentioned below (See FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth Hollingshead or Candace 
Nachman, NMFS, (301) 713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 
1361 et seq.) directs 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 by NMFS and regulations are issued. Under the MMPA, the term 
``taking'' means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill or to attempt to 
harass, hunt, capture or kill marine mammals.
    Authorization, in the form of annual LOAs, may be granted for 
periods up to five years if NMFS finds, after notification and 
opportunity for public comment, that the taking will have a negligible 
impact on the species or stock(s) of marine mammals and will not have 
an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or 
stock(s) for subsistence uses. In addition, NMFS must prescribe 
regulations that include permissible methods of taking and other means 
effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the species and its 
habitat, and on the availability of the species for subsistence uses, 
paying particular attention to rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of 
similar significance. The regulations must include requirements 
pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking. Regulations 
governing the taking of marine mammals incidental to PSW testing and 
training within the Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range in the GOM, were 
published on November 24, 2006 (71 FR 67810) and remain in effect from 
December 26, 2006 through December 27, 2011. The four species that 
Eglin AFB may take in small numbers during PSW testing and training are 
Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Atlantic spotted 
dolphins (Stenella frontalis), dwarf sperm whales (Kogia simus), and 
pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps).
    Issuance of the annual LOA to Eglin AFB is based on findings made 
in the preamble to the final rule that the total takings by this 
project would result in no more than a negligible impact on the 
affected marine mammal stocks or habitats and would not have an 
unmitigable adverse impact on subsistence uses of marine mammals. NMFS 
also finds that the applicant will meet the requirements contained in 
the implementing regulations and LOA, including monitoring and 
reporting requirements. Without any mitigation measures, a small 
possibility exists for one bottlenose dolphin and one spotted dolphin 
to be exposed to blast levels from the PSW testing sufficient to cause 
mortality. Additionally, less than two cetaceans might be exposed to 
noise levels sufficient to induce Level A harassment (injury) annually, 
and as few as 31 or as many as 52 cetaceans (depending on the season 
and water depth) could potentially be exposed (annually) to noise 
levels sufficient to induce Level B harassment in the form of temporary 
(auditory) threshold shift(TTS).
    While none of these impact estimates consider the proposed 
mitigation measures that will be employed by Eglin AFB to minimize 
potential impacts to protected species, NMFS has authorized Eglin AFB 
to lethally take one marine mammal, two marine mammals by Level A 
harassment, and up to 53 marine mammals by Level B harassment (TTS) 
annually. However, the proposed mitigation measures described in the 
final rule (71 FR 67810, November 24, 2006) and the LOA are anticipated 
to reduce potential impacts to marine mammals in both numbers and 
degree of severity. These measures include a conservative safety range 
for marine mammal exclusion; incorporation of aerial and shipboard 
survey monitoring efforts in the program both prior to and after 
detonation of explosives; and a prohibition on detonations whenever 
marine mammals are detected within the safety zone, may enter the 
safety zone at the time of detonation, or if weather and sea conditions 
preclude adequate aerial surveillance. This LOA will be renewed 
annually based on a review of the activity, completion of monitoring 
requirements, and receipt of reports required by the LOA.

    Dated: February 20, 2007.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E7-3242 Filed 2-23-07; 8:45 am]
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