10338 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 37 / Thursday, February 24, 2022 / Notices 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review by 

selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public 

Comment’’ from the ‘‘Features’’ box on 

the Applications and Permits for 

Protected Species (APPS) home page, 

https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then 

selecting File No. 25843 from the list of 

available applications. These documents 

are also available upon written request 

via email to NMFS.Pr1Comments@

noaa.gov. 

Written comments on this application 

should be submitted via email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Please 

include File No. 25843 in the subject 

line of the email comment. 

Those individuals requesting a public 

hearing should submit a written request 

via email to NMFS.Pr1Comments@

noaa.gov. The request should set forth 

the specific reasons why a hearing on 

this application would be appropriate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shasta McClenahan, Ph.D. or Erin 

Markin, Ph.D., (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject permit is requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended 

(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the 

regulations governing the taking and 

importing of marine mammals (50 CFR 

part 216), the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.), the regulations governing the 

taking, importing, and exporting of 

endangered and threatened species (50 

CFR parts 222–226), and the Fur Seal 

Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151 

et seq.). 

The applicant proposes to conduct 

research to (1) develop a baseline 

genetic database for three odontocete 

species; (2) study foraging strategies; 

and (3) investigate the abundance, 

distribution, movement, and occurrence 

of cetacean species within coastal and 

offshore waters of California and 

Oregon. Up to 25 species of cetaceans 

may be taken during research including 

the following ESA-listed species or 

distinct population segments (DPS): 

blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin (B. 

physalus), gray (Western North Pacific 

DPS; Eschrichtius robustus), humpback 

(Mexico and Central America DPSs; 

Megaptera novaeangliae), killer 

(Southern Resident DPS; Orcinus orca), 

North Pacific right (Eubalaena 

japonica), sei (B. borealis), and sperm 

(Physeter macrocephalus) whales. 

Cetaceans may be taken during vessel 

surveys including unmanned aircraft 

systems for counts, above water and 

underwater photography and 

videography, photo-identification, 

photogrammetry, behavioral 

observations, passive acoustic 

recording, echosounder for prey 

mapping, and non-invasive genetic 

sampling (exhaled air, remote skin 

swab, sloughed skin, and feces). Five 

species of pinnipeds, including ESA 

threatened Guadalupe fur seals 

(Arctocephalus townsendi), may be 

unintentionally harassed during 

research activities. See the application 

for complete numbers of animals 

requested by species and procedure. 

The permit is requested for five years. 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial 

determination has been made that the 

activity proposed is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of the 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: February 18, 2022. 

Julia M. Harrison, 

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03919 Filed 2–23–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB831] 

Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 

Management Act Provisions; General 

Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; 

Application for Exempted Fishing 

Permits 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Regional 

Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, 

Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has 

made a preliminary determination that 

an Exempted Fishing Permit application 

contains all of the required information 

and warrants further consideration. The 

Exempted Fishing Permit would allow 

commercial fishing vessels to fish 

outside fishery regulations in support of 

research conducted by the applicant. 

Regulations under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act and the Atlantic 

Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 

Management Act require publication of 

this notification to provide interested 

parties the opportunity to comment on 

applications for proposed Exempted 

Fishing Permits. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 11, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

comments by the following method: 

• Email: nmfs.gar.efp@noaa.gov. 

Include in the subject line ‘‘AOLA 

Larval Lobster EFP.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laura Deighan, Fishery Management 

Specialist, Laura.Deighan@noaa.gov, 

(978) 281–9184. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s 

Association submitted a complete 

application for an Exempted Fishing 

Permit (EFP) to conduct commercial 

fishing activities that the regulations 

would otherwise restrict to assess the 

distribution and abundance of lobster 

larvae and their potential food sources. 

This EFP would exempt the 

participating vessels from the Federal 

regulations described in Table 1. 

TABLE 1—REQUESTED EXEMPTIONS

Citation Regulation Need for exemption 

50 CFR 697.7(c)(1)(xxii) ........ Lobster gear prohibitions .................. To allow for the use of multiple gear types capable of catching lobsters. 

§ 697.17(a) ............................. Lobster possession restrictions ........ To allow the harvest of lobster above the non-trap limit. 

§ 697.20(a) ............................. Lobster possession restrictions ........ To allow for the collection of larval lobsters below the minimum size. 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 37 / Thursday, February 24, 2022 / Notices 10339 

This project would provide 

information on the spatial and temporal 

distribution and abundance of early and 

late stage American lobster larvae and 

their likely zooplankton prey in the Gulf 

of Maine and Georges Bank. This study 

would use one federally permitted 

lobster vessel to conduct sampling with 

a neuston net at a single offshore site 

(Lobster Management Area 3) during 10 

5–10 day fishing trips between May 15, 

2022, and October 15, 2022. The 

participants would record physical 

parameters and conduct three 15-minute 

tows on a single day during each trip. 

After each tow, participants would 

preserve zooplankton in 500 mL sample 

bottles, a total of up to 30 bottles of 

preserved plankton, and transfer the 

samples to the project researchers. The 

crew has been trained to operate the 

scientific gear and obtain the samples 

without a technician on board. 

The Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s 

Association received an EFP for this 

project in 2021, but the crew was only 

able to sample on 4 of the 14 proposed 

dates in 2021. This EFP would allow the 

project team to complete the work and 

meet the project objectives. 

Participants would land and sell legal 

catch caught in standard gear during the 

trips. 

If approved, the applicant may 

request minor modifications and 

extensions to the EFP throughout the 

year. EFP modifications and extensions 

may be granted without further notice if 

they are deemed essential to facilitate 

completion of the proposed research 

and have minimal impacts that do not 

change the scope or impact of the 

initially approved EFP request. Any 

fishing activity conducted outside the 

scope of the exempted fishing activity 

would be prohibited. 

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

Dated: February 18, 2022. 

Ngagne Jafnar Gueye, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03905 Filed 2–23–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB804] 

Notice of Availability of the Deepwater 

Horizon Oil Spill Alabama Trustee 

Implementation Group Draft Swift Tract 

Living Shoreline Supplemental 

Environmental Assessment 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil 

Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), and a Consent Decree with BP 

Exploration & Production Inc. (BP), the 

Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Federal 

natural resource trustee agencies for the 

Alabama Trustee Implementation Group 

(Alabama TIG) have prepared a Draft 

Swift Tract Living Shoreline 

Supplemental Environmental 

Assessment (Draft Supplemental EA). 

This Draft Supplemental EA evaluates 

the proposed removal of rocks from the 

bay bottom near the Swift Tract project 

action area and the placement of the 

removed rocks on a nearby breakwater. 

The proposed action falls within the 

general scope of the purpose and need 

for the original project, Swift Tract 

Living Shoreline, identified in the 

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 

Programmatic and Phase III Early 

Restoration Plan and Early Restoration 

Programmatic Environmental Impact 

Statement (Phase III ERP/PEIS) and is 

consistent with the Deepwater Horizon 

Oil Spill Final Programmatic Damage 

Assessment and Restoration Plan and 

Final Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS), as it 

focuses on the restoration of injuries to 

Alabama’s natural resources and 

services—in particular to Restoration 

Type: ‘‘Wetlands, Coastal, and 

Nearshore Habitats,’’ using funds made 

available in early restoration and 

through the DWH Consent Decree (see 

Final PDARP/PEIS [DWH Trustees 2016: 

Chapter 10]). The Alabama TIG 

evaluated the environmental 

consequences of the alternatives in 

accordance with NEPA. The purpose of 

this notice is to inform the public of the 

availability of the Draft Supplemental 

EA and to seek public comments on the 

document. 

DATES: The Alabama TIG will consider 

public comments received on or before 

March 28, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You 

may access the Draft Supplemental EA 

from the ‘‘News’’ section of the Alabama 

TIG website at: http://www.gulfspill

restoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/ 

alabama. Alternatively, you may 

request a CD of the Draft Supplemental 

EA (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT below). 

Submitting Comments: You may 

submit comments on the Draft 

Supplemental EA by one of the 

following methods: 

• Via the Web: http://www.gulfspill

restoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/ 

alabama; 

• Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 29649, 

Atlanta, GA 30345. Please note that 

mailed comments must be postmarked 

on or before the comment deadline 

given in DATES. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stella Wilson, NOAA Restoration 

Center, 850–332–4169, estelle.wilson@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Introduction 

On April 20, 2010, the mobile 

offshore drilling unit Deepwater 

Horizon, which was being used to drill 

a well for BP Exploration and 

Production, Inc. (BP), in the Macondo 

prospect (Mississippi Canyon 252– 

MC252), experienced a significant 

explosion, fire, and subsequent sinking 

in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in an 

unprecedented volume of oil and other 

discharges from the rig and from the 

wellhead on the seabed. The DWH oil 

spill is the largest off shore oil spill in 

U.S. history, discharging millions of 

barrels of oil over a period of 87 days. 

In addition, well over one million 

gallons of dispersants were applied to 

the waters of the spill area in an attempt 

to disperse the spilled oil. An 

undetermined amount of natural gas 

was also released into the environment 

as a result of the spill. 

The DWH Federal and State natural 

resource trustees (DWH Trustees) 

conducted the natural resource damage 

assessment for the DWH oil spill under 

OPA (OPA; 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1