Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 43 / Monday, March 4, 2024 / Notices 15549 

migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, 

feeding, or sheltering (Level B 

harassment). 

Summary of Request 

On January 3, 2023, NMFS received 

an application from the POA requesting 

authorization for take of marine 

mammals incidental to construction 

activities related to the PAMP Phase 2B: 

Cargo Terminals Reconstruction at the 

POA in Anchorage, Alaska. NMFS 

provided comments on the application 

on March 3, 2023, April 20, 2023, and 

May 18, 2023. After the applicant 

submitted a revised application on 

October 13, 2023, and responded to 

additional questions sent on December 

20, 2023, we determined the application 

was adequate and complete on February 

12, 2024. The requested regulations 

would be valid for 5 years, from April 

1, 2026 through March 31, 2031. The 

POA plans to conduct necessary work, 

including impact and vibratory pile 

driving, to demolish the existing cargo 

terminals 1 and 2 and partially 

demolish terminal 3, and to construct 

new terminals 1 and 2. The proposed 

action may incidentally expose marine 

mammals occurring in the vicinity to 

elevated levels of underwater sound, 

thereby resulting in incidental take, by 

Level A and Level B harassment. 

Therefore, the POA requests 

authorization to incidentally take 

marine mammals. 

Specified Activities 

The POA was constructed primarily 

in the 1960s, and is currently in poor 

condition and substantially past its 

initial design life. The existing cargo 

terminals T1, T2, and T3 are 

deteriorating and in poor structural 

condition, and present safety and 

security concerns for human health and 

the economic stability of the state of 

Alaska. The PAMP is designed to 

replace the existing facilities with new 

infrastructure incorporating modern 

seismic codes over a 75-year design life. 

PAMP Phase 2B includes the demolition 

and replacement of terminals T1 and 

T2, and the partial demolition of T3. 

This phase is expected to take 

approximately 6 years to complete; this 

request is for the first 5 years of 

construction. Activities proposed for 

year 6 will be covered in an additional 

IHA request submitted prior to the end 

of the 5-year period of effectiveness for 

the requested incidental take 

regulations. Pile installation will 

include both temporary (36-inch (in)) 

and permanent (72-in) steel pipe piles 

by impact and vibratory hammers. 

Removal of temporary piles and existing 

structures (16-in to 42-in steel pipe 

piles) will be primarily by cutting; deadpull and vibratory extraction methods 

may also be used. Existing piles may 

also be left standing in their current 

positions. Approximately 261 

permanent piles and 470 temporary 

piles will be installed and 

approximately 48 temporary piles will 

be extracted with a vibratory hammer 

over the 5-year period. The work is 

expected to require approximately 337 

days between the months of April and 

November over the 5 year period. The 

POA requests take of marine mammals 

by Level B harassment for seven species 

(including Cook Inlet beluga whales 

(Delphinapterus leucas)), and take by 

Level A harassment of five species. 

Information Solicited 

Interested persons may submit 

information, suggestions, and comments 

concerning the POA’s request (see 

ADDRESSES). NMFS will consider all 

information, suggestions, and comments 

related to the request during the 

development of proposed regulations 

governing the incidental taking of 

marine mammals by the POA, if 

appropriate. 

Dated: February 28, 2024. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–04487 Filed 3–1–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD736] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Phase II of the 

Richmond-San Rafael Bridge 

Restoration Project in Richmond, 

California 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments on 

proposed renewal incidental harassment 

authorization. 

SUMMARY: NMFS received a request from 

the California Department of 

Transportation (Caltrans) for the 

renewal of their currently active 

incidental harassment authorization 

(IHA) to take marine mammals 

incidental to Phase II of the RichmondSan Rafael Bridge Restoration Project in 

Richmond, California. Caltrans’ 

activities will not be completed prior to 

the IHA’s expiration. Pursuant to the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), prior to issuing the currently 

active IHA, NMFS requested comments 

on both the proposed IHA and the 

potential for renewing the initial 

authorization if certain requirements 

were satisfied. The renewal 

requirements have been satisfied, and 

NMFS is now providing an additional 

15-day comment period to allow for any 

additional comments on the proposed 

renewal not previously provided during 

the initial 30-day comment period. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than March 19, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief, 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service, and should be 

submitted via email to ITP.cockrell@

noaa.gov. 

Instructions: NMFS is not responsible 

for comments sent by any other method, 

to any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period. Comments, including all 

attachments, must not exceed a 25- 

megabyte file size. Attachments to 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel or Adobe PDF file formats 

only. All comments received are a part 

of the public record and will generally 

be posted online at https://www.

fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/incidentaltake-authorizations-under-marinemammal-protection-act without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address) voluntarily 

submitted by the commenter may be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. 

Electronic copies of the original 

application, renewal request, and 

supporting documents (including NMFS 

Federal Register notices of the original 

proposed and final authorizations, and 

the previous IHA), as well as a list of the 

references cited in this document, may 

be obtained online at: https://www.

fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidentaltake-authorization-californiadepartment-transportations-richmondsan-rafael. In case of problems accessing 

these documents, please contact the 

analyst listed below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Craig Cockrell, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of 

marine mammals, with certain 


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15550 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 43 / Monday, March 4, 2024 / Notices 

exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and 

(D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 

seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce 

(as delegated to 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 and either regulations are 

promulgated or, if the taking is limited 

to harassment, an IHA is issued. 

Authorization for incidental takings 

shall be granted if NMFS finds that the 

taking will have a negligible impact on 

the species or stock(s) and will not have 

an unmitigable adverse impact on the 

availability of the species or stock(s) for 

taking for subsistence uses (where 

relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe 

the permissible methods of taking and 

other ‘‘means of effecting the least 

practicable adverse impact’’ on the 

affected species or stocks and their 

habitat, paying particular attention to 

rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of 

similar significance, and on the 

availability of such species or stocks for 

taking for certain subsistence uses 

(referred to here as ‘‘mitigation 

measures’’). NMFS must also prescribe 

requirements pertaining to monitoring 

and reporting of such takings. The 

definition of key terms such as ‘‘take,’’ 

‘‘harassment,’’ and ‘‘negligible impact’’ 

can be found in the MMPA and the 

NMFS’s implementing regulations (see 

16 U.S.C. 1362 et seq.; 50 CFR 216.103). 

NMFS’ regulations implementing the 

MMPA at 50 CFR 216.107(e) indicate 

that IHAs may be renewed for 

additional periods of time not to exceed 

1 year for each reauthorization. In the 

notice of proposed IHA for the initial 

IHA, NMFS described the circumstances 

under which we would consider issuing 

a renewal for this activity, and 

requested public comment on a 

potential renewal under those 

circumstances. Specifically, on a caseby-case basis, NMFS may issue a onetime 1-year renewal of an IHA following 

notice to the public providing an 

additional 15 days for public comments 

when (1) up to another year of identical, 

or nearly identical, activities as 

described in the Detailed Description of 

Specified Activities section of the initial 

IHA issuance notice is planned; or (2) 

the activities as described in the 

Description of the Specified Activities 

and Anticipated Impacts section of the 

initial IHA issuance notice would not be 

completed by the time the initial IHA 

expires and a renewal would allow for 

completion of the activities beyond that 

described in the DATES section of the 

notice of issuance of the initial IHA, 

provided all of the following conditions 

are met: 

1. A request for renewal is received no 

later than 60 days prior to the needed 

renewal IHA effective date (recognizing 

that the renewal IHA expiration date 

cannot extend beyond 1 year from 

expiration of the initial IHA); 2. The request for renewal must 

include the following: • An explanation that the activities to 

be conducted under the requested 

renewal IHA are identical to the 

activities analyzed under the initial 

IHA, are a subset of the activities, or 

include changes so minor (e.g., 

reduction in pile size) that the changes 

do not affect the previous analyses, 

mitigation and monitoring 

requirements, or take estimates (with 

the exception of reducing the type or 

amount of take); and • A preliminary monitoring report 

showing the results of the required 

monitoring to date and an explanation 

showing that the monitoring results do 

not indicate impacts of a scale or nature 

not previously analyzed or authorized; 

and 

3. Upon review of the request for 

renewal, the status of the affected 

species or stocks, and any other 

pertinent information, NMFS 

determines that there are no more than 

minor changes in the activities, the 

mitigation and monitoring measures 

will remain the same and appropriate, 

and the findings in the initial IHA 

remain valid. 

An additional public comment period 

of 15 days (for a total of 45 days), with 

direct notice by email, phone, or postal 

service to commenters on the initial 

IHA, is provided to allow for any 

additional comments on the proposed 

renewal. A description of the renewal 

process may be found on our website at: 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentalharassment-authorization-renewals. 

Any comments received on the potential 

renewal, along with relevant comments 

on the initial IHA, have been considered 

in the development of this proposed 

IHA renewal, and a summary of agency 

responses to applicable comments is 

included in this notice. NMFS will 

consider any additional public 

comments prior to making any final 

decision on the issuance of the 

requested renewal, and agency 

responses will be summarized in the 

final notice of our decision. 

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 National 

Environmental Policy Act review. 

NMFS has preliminarily determined 

that the application of this categorical 

exclusion remains appropriate for this 

renewal IHA. 

History of Request 

On July 31, 2024, NMFS issued an 

IHA to Caltrans to take marine mammals 

incidental to Phase II of the RichmondSan Rafael Bridge Restoration Project in 

Richmond, California (88 FR 51778, 

August 4, 2023), effective from August 

1, 2023 through March, 30 2024. On 

February 7, 2024, NMFS received an 

application for the renewal of that 

initial IHA. As described in the 

application for renewal IHA, the 

activities for which incidental take is 

requested consist of activities that are 

covered by the initial authorization but 

will not be completed prior to its 

expiration. As required, the applicant 

also provided a preliminary monitoring 

report which confirms that the applicant 

has implemented the required 

mitigation and monitoring, and which 

also shows that no impacts of a scale or 

nature not previously analyzed or 

authorized have occurred as a result of 

the activities conducted. 

Description of the Specified Activities 

and Anticipated Impacts 

In the initial IHA Caltrans proposed to 

conduct construction activities to 

restore a portion of the Richmond-San 

Rafael Bridge. Prior to restoration work 

Caltrans would install a debris 

containment system to ensure 

contaminants from construction are not 

deposited into San Francisco Bay. 

Caltrans and NMFS concluded that 

during the deployment and retrieval of 

the containment system disturbance 

(i.e., Level B harassment) may occur to 

harbor seals hauled out at Castro Rocks. 

Castro Rocks is an important haulout 

location for harbor seals that is close to 

the portion of the Richmond-San Rafael 

Bridge where construction work is 

occurring. 

Under the initial IHA Caltrans took 19 

days to deploy the debris containment 

system and during this time protected 

species observers (PSOs) did not 

observe any disturbance of harbor seals 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 43 / Monday, March 4, 2024 / Notices 15551 

hauled out at Castro Rocks. Caltrans will 

be unable to remove the debris 

containment system before the 

expiration of the initial IHA. Therefore, 

this renewal would allow for the 

removal of the debris containment 

system and completion of the 

restoration project. NMFS authorized 

9,000 takes of harbor seals by Level B 

harassment under the initial IHA, for 

the installation and removal of the 

debris containment system. This 

renewal would authorize a portion of 

the number of takes authorized in the 

initial IHA based on the days remaining 

to complete the work. 

All documents related to the initial 

IHA and the applicants request for 

renewal are available on our website at: 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

incidental-take-authorization-californiadepartment-transportations-richmondsan-rafael 

Detailed Description of the Activity 

A detailed description of the 

demolition and construction activities 

for which take is proposed here may be 

found in the Federal Register notices of 

the Proposed IHA (88 FR 41920, June 

28, 2023) and Final IHA (88 FR 51778, 

August 4, 2023) for the initial 

authorization. The location, timing, and 

nature of the activities, including the 

types of equipment planned for use, are 

identical to those described in the 

previous notices. Under the initial IHA 

the removal of the debris containment 

system will not be completed before the 

IHA expires. This renewal would allow 

for the removal of the containment 

system and completion of the 

restoration work on the Richmond-San 

Rafael Bridge. The proposed renewal 

would be effective for a period not 

exceeding 1 year from the date of 

expiration of the initial IHA. 

Description of Marine Mammals 

A description of the marine mammals 

in the area of the activities for which 

authorization of take is proposed here, 

including information on abundance, 

status, distribution, and hearing, may be 

found in the Federal Register notice of 

the Proposed IHA (88 FR 41920, June 

28, 2023) for the initial authorization. 

NMFS has reviewed the monitoring data 

from the initial IHA, 2023 draft Stock 

Assessment Reports, information on 

relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and 

other scientific literature, and 

determined there is no new information 

that affects which species or stocks have 

the potential to be affected or the 

pertinent information in the Description 

of the Marine Mammals in the Area of 

Specified Activities contained in the 

supporting documents for the initial 

IHA. 

Potential Effects on Marine Mammals 

and Their Habitat 

A description of the potential effects 

of the specified activity on marine 

mammals and their habitat may be 

found in the Federal Register notice of 

the Proposed IHA (88 FR 41920, June 

28, 2023) for the initial authorization. 

NMFS has reviewed the monitoring data 

from the initial IHA, recent draft Stock 

Assessment Reports, information on 

relevant Unusual Mortality Events, and 

other scientific literature, and 

determined that there is no new 

information that affects our initial 

analysis of impacts on marine mammals 

and their habitat. 

Estimated Take 

The initial IHA assumed a daily 

occurrence rate of 300 harbor seals per 

day on Castro Rocks. Caltrans expected 

the installation and removal of the 

debris containment system to take 

approximately 30 days. Therefore, the 

initial IHA authorized a total of 9,000 

takes by Level B harassment to complete 

the installation and removal of the 

debris containment system. Under the 

initial IHA Caltrans installed the debris 

containment system over a 19 day 

period and no takes by Level B 

harassment of harbor seals occurred 

during that time. The removal of the 

debris containment system will not be 

completed before the initial IHA 

expires. 

This IHA renewal would authorize 

take by Level B harassment of harbor 

seals during the removal of the debris 

containment system. It is expected to 

take a total of 10 days to remove the 

debris containment system once the 

construction activities are completed. 

NMFS assumes a similar daily 

occurrence rate of 300 harbor seals per 

day on Castro Rocks which over the 10 

days of remaining work would equate to 

a total of 3,000 takes by Level B 

harassment of harbor seals under this 

renewal IHA. A detailed description of 

the methods and inputs used to estimate 

take for the specified activity are found 

in the Federal Register notices of the 

Proposed IHA (88 FR 41920, June 28, 

2023) and Final IHA (88 FR 51778, 

August 4, 2023) for the initial 

authorization. 

Description of Proposed Mitigation, 

Monitoring and Reporting Measures 

The proposed mitigation, monitoring, 

and reporting measures included as 

requirements in this authorization are 

identical to those included in the 

Federal Register notice announcing the 

issuance of the initial IHA, and the 

discussion of the least practicable 

adverse impact included in the Federal 

Register notice of the Proposed IHA (88 

FR 41920, June 28, 2023) remains 

accurate. The following mitigation 

measures are proposed for this renewal: 

• Seasonal Work Restrictions: 

installation or removal of the debris 

containment system must not occur 

between Piers 52–57 from April 1-July 

31 due to the pupping and molting 

period of harbor seals; 

• Work must not take place outside of 

the containment system on the bridge 

between Piers 52–57 from April 1 to 

July 31; 

• A non-disturbance buffer will be 

established within 400 feet (121 meters) 

of Castro Rocks on the south side of 

bridge; 

• Staging of barges will not be 

allowed in the project area; 

• Routes for watercraft to reach work 

locations will be predetermined in 

consultation with the project biologist to 

avoid harassment or take of marine 

mammals hauled out at Castro Rocks; 

and 

• No piles may be driven or vibrated 

to create staging locations for any 

watercraft. Barges and vessels will be 

tethered to the existing concrete bridge 

piers. The following monitoring and 

reporting measures are proposed for this 

renewal: 

• Caltrans will monitor to collect data 

on marine mammal behavior, counts of 

the individuals observed, and the 

frequency of the observations. Caltrans 

will collect sighting data and 

observations on behavioral responses to 

construction for marine mammal 

species observed in the region of 

activity during the period of 

construction. All observers will be 

trained in the identification of marine 

mammals and marine mammal 

behaviors; 

• PSOs must be independent 

observers (i.e., not construction 

personnel). All PSOs must have the 

ability to conduct field observations and 

collect data according to assigned 

protocols, be experienced in field 

identification of marine mammals and 

their behaviors. Caltrans must submit 

their resumes to NMFS for approval; 

• Biological monitoring must occur 5 

days prior to the Project’s start date, to 

establish baseline observations; 

• Observation periods will 

encompass different tide levels and 

hours of the day. Monitoring of marine 

mammals around the construction site 

will be conducted using binoculars as 

necessary; and 

• The location of the PSOs will be at 

a monitoring platform positioned on 


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15552 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 43 / Monday, March 4, 2024 / Notices 

Pier 55 of the Richmond-San Rafael 

Bridge, at the closest pier of the 

Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to Castro 

Rocks. Pier 55 is approximately 21 

meters from the nearest rock at Castro 

Rocks harbor seal colony. 

Caltrans shall submit a draft report to 

NMFS within 90 days of the completion 

of marine mammal monitoring, or 60 

days prior to the issuance of any 

subsequent IHA for this project (if 

required), whichever comes first. The 

annual report will detail the monitoring 

protocol, summarize the data recorded 

during monitoring, and estimate the 

number of marine mammals that may 

have been harassed. If no comments are 

received from NMFS within 30 days, the 

draft final report will become final. If 

comments are received, a final report 

must be submitted up to 30 days after 

receipt of comments. All PSO datasheets 

and/or raw sighting data must be 

submitted with the draft marine 

mammal report. 

Reports shall contain the following 

information: 

• Dates and times (begin and end) of 

all marine mammal monitoring; 

• Construction activities occurring 

during each daily observation period 

including: (a) what type of restoration 

work is being completed, and (b) the 

total duration of work completed; 

• PSO locations during monitoring; 

and 

• Environmental conditions during 

monitoring periods (at beginning and 

end of PSO shift and whenever 

conditions change significantly), 

including sea state and any other 

relevant weather conditions including 

cloud cover, fog, sun glare, and overall 

visibility to the horizon, and estimated 

observable distance. 

Upon observation of a marine 

mammal, the following information 

must be reported: 

• Name of PSO who sighted the 

animal(s) and PSO location and activity 

at time of sighting; 

• Time of sighting; 

• Identification of the animal(s) (e.g., 

genus/species, lowest possible 

taxonomic level, or unidentified), and 

PSO confidence in identification; 

• Distance and location of each 

observed marine mammal relative to the 

bridge restoration work; 

• Estimated number of animals by 

species (min/max/best estimate); 

• Estimated number of animals by 

cohort (adults, pups, and group 

composition, etc.); 

• Description of any marine mammal 

behavioral observations (e.g., observed 

behaviors such as feeding or traveling), 

including an assessment of behavioral 

responses thought to have resulted from 

the activity (e.g., no response or changes 

in behavioral state such flushing or head 

posturing); and 

• Detailed information about 

implementation of any mitigation 

measures, a description of specified 

actions that ensured, and resulting 

changes in behavior of the animal(s), if 

any. 

Comments and Responses 

As noted previously, NMFS published 

a notice of a proposed IHA (88 FR 

41920, June 28, 2023) and solicited 

public comments on both our proposal 

to issue the initial IHA for the 

installation and removal of the debris 

containment system and on the 

potential for a renewal IHA, should 

certain requirements be met. All public 

comments were addressed in the notice 

announcing the issuance of the initial 

IHA (88 FR 51778, August 4, 2023) and 

none of the comments specifically 

pertained to the renewal of the 2023 

IHA. 

Preliminary Determinations 

The activities conducted under this 

potential renewal would be a subset of 

the activities authorized under the 

initial IHA. Specifically, this renewal 

would authorize the removal of the 

debris containment system. Removal of 

the debris containment system is 

expected to take 10 days. This activity 

was originally authorized under the 

initial IHA but Caltrans could not 

complete the removal of the debris 

containment system before the initial 

IHA expired. In analyzing the effects of 

the activities for the initial IHA, NMFS 

determined that the Caltrans’ activities 

would have a negligible impact on the 

affected species or stocks and that the 

authorized take numbers of each species 

or stock were small relative to the 

relevant stocks (e.g., less than one-third 

of the abundance of all stocks). There is 

no new information that affects NMFS’ 

determinations supporting issuance 

initial IHA or this renewal. The 

mitigation measures and monitoring and 

reporting requirements as described 

above are identical to the initial IHA. 

NMFS has preliminarily concluded 

that there is no new information 

suggesting that our analysis or findings 

should change from those reached for 

the initial IHA. Based on the 

information and analysis contained here 

and in the referenced documents, 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) 

Caltrans’ 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. 

Endangered Species Act 

No incidental take of Endangered 

Species Act (ESA)-listed species is 

authorized or expected to result from 

this activity. Therefore, NMFS has 

determined that formal consultation 

under section 7 of the ESA is not 

required for this action. 

Proposed Renewal IHA and Request for 

Public Comment 

As a result of these preliminary 

determinations, NMFS proposes to issue 

a renewal IHA to Caltrans for the 

removal of the debris containment 

system for Phase II of the Richmond-San 

Rafael Bridge Restoration Project in 

Richmond, California from the April 1, 

2024, through March 30, 2025, provided 

the previously described mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting requirements 

are incorporated. A draft of the 

proposed and final initial IHA can be 

found at https://www.fisheries.noaa.

gov/action/incidental-takeauthorization-california-departmenttransportations-richmond-san-rafael. 

We request comment on our analyses, 

the proposed renewal IHA, and any 

other aspect of this notice. Please 

include with your comments any 

supporting data or literature citations to 

help inform our final decision on the 

request for MMPA authorization. 

Dated: February 27, 2024. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–04400 Filed 3–1–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD755] 

New England Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 


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