82230 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 197 / Thursday, October 10, 2024 / Notices 

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 either the title of the collection 

or the OMB Control Number 0648–0682. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Departmental PRA Clearance Officer, Office 

of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23436 Filed 10–9–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE367] 

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; 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 (GOM), 

notification is hereby given that NMFS 

has issued a Letter of Authorization 

(LOA) to WesternGeco for the take of 

marine mammals incidental to 

geophysical survey activity in the GOM. 

DATES: This LOA is effective from 

October 3, 2024 through November 15, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: The LOA, LOA request, and 

supporting documentation are available 

online at: https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/marine-mammal-protection/ 

issued-letters-authorization-oil-and-gasindustry-geophysical-survey. In case of 

problems accessing these documents, 

please call the contact listed below (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 

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 GOM 

over the course of 5 years (86 FR 5322). 

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, and became effective on April 19, 

2021. 

The 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 

§ 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. 

NMFS subsequently discovered that 

the 2021 rule was based on erroneous 

take estimates. We conducted another 

rulemaking using correct take estimates 

and other newly available and pertinent 

information relevant to the analyses 

supporting some of the findings in the 

2021 final rule and the taking allowable 

under the regulations. We issued a final 

rule in April 2024, effective May 24, 

2024 (89 FR 31488). 

The 2024 final rule made no changes 

to the specified activities or the 

specified geographical region in which 

those activities would be conducted, nor 

to the original 5-year period of 

effectiveness. In consideration of the 

new information, the 2024 rule 

presented new analyses supporting 

affirmance of the negligible impact 

determinations for all species, and 

affirmed that the existing regulations, 

which contain mitigation, monitoring, 

and reporting requirements, are 

consistent with the ‘‘least practicable 

adverse impact’’ standard of the MMPA. 

Summary of Request and Analysis 

NMFS issued a LOA to TGS on 

September 27, 2023, for the take of 

marine mammals incidental to a 3- 

dimensional ocean bottom node survey 

in the Green Canyon, Ewing Bank, and 

Atwater Valley protraction areas, 

including approximately 380 lease 

blocks, effective September 27, 2023, 

through September 28, 2024. Please see 

the Federal Register notification (88 FR 

68106, October 3, 2023) for additional 

detail regarding the LOA and the 

planned survey activity. 

On December 20, 2023, TGS requested 

the transfer of the LOA to WesternGeco, 

its partner in the planned survey effort. 

WesternGeco confirmed to NMFS that it 

similarly requested transfer of the LOA. 

No other changes were requested. The 

revised LOA remained effective through 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 197 / Thursday, October 10, 2024 / Notices 82231 

September 28, 2024. Please see the 

Federal Register notice of issuance of a 

revised LOA (89 FR 5864, January 30, 

2024) for additional detail regarding the 

transfer. 

WesternGeco notified NMFS that due 

to survey delays it had not completed 

the survey plan described in the initial 

LOA request submitted by TGS and, 

because the original LOA has expired, 

has requested that an additional LOA be 

issued effective through November 15, 

2024, to cover completion of the 

planned survey effort. 

Although this is technically a new 

LOA, NMFS considers this to be 

functionally an extension of the original 

LOA, as the survey activity considered 

herein represents the conclusion of the 

originally planned survey. Of the 

originally planned 65 days of sound 

source operations, approximately 16 

days of surveying remains, all in Zone 

5. There are no other changes to 

WesternGeco’s planned activity, as 

described in the original notice of 

issuance (88 FR 68106, October 3, 2023). 

On this basis, NMFS has updated take 

estimates based on information 

provided in the 2024 final rule (89 FR 

31488, April 24, 2024), and 

corresponding with the estimated 16 

days of remaining survey activity. As 

WesternGeco’s is using conventional 

airgun sources consisting of 28 

elements, with a total volume of 5,240 

cubic inches (or the less-impactful 

Gemini source), we have used the 5,110 

cu in airgun array proxy to estimate the 

take numbers. 

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. 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 (86 FR 5404, January 19, 2021; 89 

FR 31535, May 24, 2024). 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. Normally, a survey 

with a duration of 16 days would not 

apply scalar ratios for the small 

numbers determination. However, scalar 

ratios were used in this instance since 

we consider this survey a continuation 

of the original 65 day survey. 

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/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 Scaled take Abundance 2 Percent abundance 

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

Sperm whale ................................................................................................................ 112 47.4 3,007 1.6 

Kogia spp ..................................................................................................................... 3 48 14.7 980 1.7 

Beaked whales ............................................................................................................ 489 49.4 803 6.1 

Rough-toothed dolphin ................................................................................................ 372 106.9 4,853 2.2 

Bottlenose dolphin ....................................................................................................... 296 85.0 165,125 0.1 

Clymene dolphin .......................................................................................................... 208 59.6 4,619 1.3 

Atlantic spotted dolphin ............................................................................................... 108 31.0 21,506 0.1 

Pantropical spotted dolphin ......................................................................................... 2,834 813.4 67,225 1.2 

Spinner dolphin ............................................................................................................ 4 152 14.4 5,548 0.3 

Striped dolphin ............................................................................................................. 525 150.6 5,634 2.7 

Fraser’s dolphin ........................................................................................................... 137 39.2 1,665 2.4 

Risso’s dolphin ............................................................................................................. 87 25.6 1,974 1.3 

Blackfish 5 .................................................................................................................... 804 237.3 6,113 3.9 

Short-finned pilot whale ............................................................................................... 113 33.3 2,741 1.2 

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 (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 2 takes by Level A harassment and 46 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 50 increased to account for potential encounter with a group of average size (Maze-Foley and Mullin, 2006). 

5The ‘‘blackfish’’ guild includes melon-headed whales, false killer whales, pygmy killer whales, and killer whales. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of WesternGeco’s modified 

survey activity described in its LOA 

modification requesr and the 

anticipated take of marine mammals, 

NMFS finds that small numbers of 


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82232 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 197 / Thursday, October 10, 2024 / Notices 

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 modified 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 

WesternGeco authorizing the take of 

marine mammals incidental to its 

geophysical survey activity, as 

described above. 

Dated: October 7, 2024. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23483 Filed 10–9–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE306] 

Fisheries of the South Atlantic; South 

Atlantic Fishery Management Council; 

Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold a meeting of its Citizen Science 

Operations Committee October 30–31, 

2024. The meeting will be held in 

Charleston, SC. 

DATES: The Citizen Science Operations 

Committee meeting will be held 

Wednesday, October 30, 2024, from 1 

p.m. until 5 p.m. and Thursday, October 

31, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council office, 4055 Faber Place Drive, 

Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 29405. 

The meeting is open to the public and 

will also be available via webinar. 

Webinar registration, an online public 

comment form, and briefing book 

materials will be available two weeks 

prior to the meeting at: https://

safmc.net/advisory-panel-meetings/. 

There will be an opportunity for public 

comment at the beginning of the 

meeting. 

Council address: South Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council, 4055 

Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, N 

Charleston, SC 29405. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia 

Byrd, Citizen Science Program Manager, 

SAFMC; phone: (843) 302–8439 or toll 

free: (866) SAFMC–10; fax: (843) 769– 

4520; email: julia.byrd@safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Citizen Science Operations Committee 

serves as advisors to the Council’s 

Citizen Science Program. Committee 

members include representatives from 

the Council’s Citizen Science Advisory 

Panel Pool, NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast 

Regional Office, NOAA Fisheries’ 

Southeast Fisheries Science Center, and 

the Council’s Science and Statistical 

Committee. Their responsibilities 

include developing programmatic 

recommendations, reviewing policies, 

providing program direction/multipartner support, identifying citizen 

science research needs, and providing 

general advice. 

Agenda items include: the Citizen 

Science Program’s initial evaluation 

plan, including researchers presenting 

their findings to help establish baseline 

levels of knowledge about, confidence 

in, and trust in the citizen science 

process of collecting data to inform 

fisheries management, committee 

discussion, and development of 

programmatic recommendations; a 

Citizen Science Program and Project 

update; and other business. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for auxiliary aids should be 

directed to the Council office (see 

ADDRESSES) 5 days prior to the meeting. 

Note: The times and sequence specified in 

this agenda are subject to change. 

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

Dated: October 7, 2024. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23461 Filed 10–9–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE307] 

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 84 Assessment 

Webinar IX for U.S Caribbean Yellowtail 

Snapper and Stoplight Parrotfish. 

SUMMARY: The SEDAR 84 assessment 

process of U.S. Caribbean yellowtail 

snapper and stoplight parrotfish will 

consist of a Data Workshop, and a series 

of assessment webinars, and a Review 

Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

DATES: The SEDAR 84 assessment 

webinar IX will be held Wednesday, 

October 30, 2024, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., 

Eastern Time. 

ADDRESSES: 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, 


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