Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 184 / Monday, September 23, 2024 / Notices 77477 

representative of the effort planned by 

LLOG in terms of predicted Level B 

harassment. 

The survey will take place over 

approximately 5 days in zone 6. The 

monthly distribution of survey days is 

not known in advance. Take estimates 

for each species are based on the month 

that produces the greatest 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 6 of the rule (89 FR 31488, 

April 24, 2024). 

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 (89 FR 31535, May 24, 2024). For 

more information please see NMFS’ 

discussion of small numbers in the 2021 

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, are used by NMFS in making 

the necessary small numbers 

determinations, through comparison 

with the best available abundance 

estimates (see discussion at 86 FR 5322, 

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/marinemammal-stock-assessments) and modelpredicted abundance information 

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

Duke/GOM/). Information supporting 

the small numbers determinations is 

provided in table 1. 

TABLE 1—TAKE ANALYSIS 1

Species Authorized 

take Abundance 2 Percent abundance 

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

Sperm whale ................................................................................................................................ 38 3,007 1.3 

Kogia spp ..................................................................................................................................... 3 15 980 1.5 

Beaked whales ............................................................................................................................ 15 803 1.9 

Rough-toothed dolphin ................................................................................................................ 103 4,853 2.1 

Bottlenose dolphin ....................................................................................................................... 154 165,125 0.1 

Clymene dolphin .......................................................................................................................... 190 4,619 4.1 

Atlantic spotted dolphin ............................................................................................................... 248 21,506 1.2 

Pantropical spotted dolphin ......................................................................................................... 751 67,225 1.1 

Spinner dolphin ............................................................................................................................ 4 0 5,548 n/a 

Striped dolphin ............................................................................................................................. 112 5,634 2.0 

Fraser’s dolphin ........................................................................................................................... 5 65 1,665 3.9 

Risso’s dolphin ............................................................................................................................. 28 1,974 1.4 

Blackfish 6 .................................................................................................................................... 296 6,113 4.8 

Short-finned pilot whale ............................................................................................................... 153 2,741 5.6 

1Scalar ratios were not applied in this case due to brief survey duration. 

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 (Garrison et al., 2023). For Rice’s whale, Atlantic spotted dolphin, and Risso’s dolphin, the larger estimated 

SAR abundance estimate is used. 3 Includes 1 take by Level A harassment and 14 takes by Level B harassment. Small numbers determination made on basis of scaled Level B 

harassment take plus authorized Level A harassment take. 4 Modeled take of 1 rounded down to 0. 

5 Modeled take of 41 increased to account for potential encounter with a group of average size (Maze-Foley and Mullin, 2006). 

6The ‘‘blackfish’’ guild includes melon-headed whales, false killer whales, pygmy killer whales, and killer whales. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of LLOG’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 

LLOG authorizing the take of marine 

mammals incidental to its geophysical 

survey activity, as described above. 

Dated: September 17, 2024. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21612 Filed 9–20–24; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE290] 

Pacific Fishery Management Council; 

Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s (Pacific Council) 

Ad Hoc Marine Planning Committee 

(MPC) will hold an online public 

meeting. 


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77478 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 184 / Monday, September 23, 2024 / Notices 

DATES: The online meeting will be held 

Wednesday, October 9, 2024, from 10 

a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time or 

until business for the day has been 

completed. 

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held 

online. Specific meeting information, 

including a proposed agenda and 

directions on how to attend the meeting 

and system requirements, will be 

provided in the meeting announcement 

on the Pacific Council’s website (see 

www.pcouncil.org). You may send an 

email to Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt 

(kris.kleinschmidt@noaa.gov) or contact 

him at (503) 820–2412 for technical 

assistance. 

Council address: Pacific Fishery 

Management Council, 7700 NE 

Ambassador Place, Suite 101, Portland, 

OR 97220–1384. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kerry Griffin, Staff Officer, Pacific 

Council; telephone: (503) 820–2409. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of this online meeting is for the 

MPC to consider current offshore wind 

(OSW) energy and aquaculture issues 

and to provide information and 

recommendations to the Pacific Council 

for consideration at its September 2024 

meeting. Topics will include updates on 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

activities, updates from coastal states 

and the National Marine Fisheries 

Service, a Tribal update, discussion of 

long-term OSW cumulative impacts, 

and other OSW or aquaculture topics, as 

appropriate. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in the meeting agenda may be 

discussed, those issues may not be the 

subject of formal action during this 

meeting. Action will be restricted to 

those issues specifically listed in this 

document and any issues arising after 

publication of this document that 

require emergency action under section 

305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 

provided the public has been notified of 

the intent to take final action to address 

the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Mr. Kris 

Kleinschmidt (kris.kleinschmidt@

noaa.gov; (503) 820–2412) at least 10 

days prior to the meeting date. 

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

Dated: September 18, 2024. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21693 Filed 9–20–24; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE289] 

Fisheries of the U.S. Caribbean; 

Southeast Data, Assessment, and 

Review (SEDAR); Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of SEDAR 91 Pre-Data 

Workshop Webinar for U.S Caribbean 

Spiny Lobster. 

SUMMARY: The SEDAR 91 assessment 

process of U.S. Caribbean spiny lobster 

will consist of a Data Workshop, and a 

series of assessment webinars, and a 

Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

DATES: The SEDAR 91 Pre-Data 

Workshop webinar will be held October 

10, 2024, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., eastern 

time. 

ADDRESSES: 

Meeting address: The meeting will be 

held via webinar. The webinar is open 

to members of the public. Those 

interested in participating should 

contact Julie A. Neer at SEDAR (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) to 

request an invitation providing webinar 

access information. Please request 

webinar invitations at least 24 hours in 

advance of each webinar. 

SEDAR address: 4055 Faber Place 

Drive, Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 

29405. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie 

A. Neer, SEDAR Coordinator; phone: 

(843) 571–4366; email: Julie.neer@

safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf 

of Mexico, South Atlantic, and 

Caribbean Fishery Management 

Councils, in conjunction with NOAA 

Fisheries and the Atlantic and Gulf 

States Marine Fisheries Commissions 

have implemented the Southeast Data, 

Assessment and Review (SEDAR) 

process, a multi-step method for 

determining the status of fish stocks in 

the Southeast Region. SEDAR is a multistep process including: (1) Data 

Workshop, (2) a series of assessment 

webinars, and (3) A Review Workshop. 

The product of the Data Workshop is a 

report that compiles and evaluates 

potential datasets and recommends 

which datasets are appropriate for 

assessment analyses. The assessment 

webinars produce a report that describes 

the fisheries, evaluates the status of the 

stock, estimates biological benchmarks, 

projects future population conditions, 

and recommends research and 

monitoring needs. The product of the 

Review Workshop is an Assessment 

Summary documenting panel opinions 

regarding the strengths and weaknesses 

of the stock assessment and input data. 

Participants for SEDAR Workshops are 

appointed by the Gulf of Mexico, South 

Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery 

Management Councils and NOAA 

Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, 

HMS Management Division, and 

Southeast Fisheries Science Center. 

Participants include data collectors and 

database managers; stock assessment 

scientists, biologists, and researchers; 

constituency representatives including 

fishermen, environmentalists, and 

NGO’s; International experts; and staff 

of Councils, Commissions, and State 

and Federal agencies. 

The items of discussion during the 

pre-Data Workshop webinar are as 

follows: 

Participants will discuss what data 

may be available for use in the 

assessment. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before this group for discussion, those 

issues may not be the subject of formal 

action during this meeting. Action will 

be restricted to those issues specifically 

identified in this notice and any issues 

arising after publication of this notice 

that require emergency action under 

section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, provided the public has been 

notified of the intent to take final action 

to address the emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

The meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to the 

Council office (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 

business days prior to each workshop. 

Note: The times and sequence specified in 

this agenda are subject to change. 

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

Dated: September 18, 2024. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21690 Filed 9–20–24; 8:45 am] 

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