Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 13 / Wednesday, January 22, 2025 / Notices 7661 

the negligible impact and small 

numbers standards and authorized 

under the initial IHA and no new 

information has emerged that would 

change those findings. The re-issued 

2025 IHA includes identical required 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

measures as the initial IHA, and there is 

no new information suggesting that our 

analysis or findings should change. 

Based on the information 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; and (4) Trident’s 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. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

To comply with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 

NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 

216–6A, NMFS must review our 

proposed action with respect to 

environmental consequences on the 

human environment. 

Accordingly, NMFS has determined 

that the issuance of the IHA qualifies to 

be categorically excluded from further 

NEPA review. This action is consistent 

with categories of activities identified in 

CE B4 of the Companion Manual for 

NAO 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. 

Endangered Species Act 

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA) of 1973 (ESA: 16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires that each 

Federal agency insure that any action it 

authorizes, funds, or carries out is not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of any endangered or 

threatened species or result in the 

destruction or adverse modification of 

designated critical habitat. To ensure 

ESA compliance for the issuance of 

IHAs, NMFS consults internally 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species, in 

this case with the NMFS’ Alaska 

Regional Office (AKRO). 

NMFS is authorizing take of the 

Mexico-North Pacific distinct 

population segment (DPS) of humpback 

whale, and the western DPS of the 

Steller sea lion, which are listed as 

threatened or endangered under the 

ESA. The NMFS AKRO issued a 

Biological Opinion under section 7 of 

the ESA on the issuance of an IHA to 

Trident under section 101(a)(5)(D) of the 

MMPA by NMFS OPR. The biological 

opinion concluded that the action is not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of the listed species. 

Authorization 

NMFS has issued an IHA to Trident 

for in-water construction activities 

associated with the specified activity 

from March 1, 2025, through February 

28, 2026. All previously described 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements from the initial 2024 IHA 

are incorporated. 

Dated: January 15, 2025. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2025–01448 Filed 1–21–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE619] 

Marine Mammals; File No. 28233 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; extension of comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the National Marine Fisheries Service is 

extending the public comment period 

associated with the notice of receipt for 

an application for a permit to import 

bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops 

truncatus) submitted by the Clearwater 

Marine Aquarium. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

notice published on December 20, 2024, 

at 89 FR 104107, is extended. Written 

comments must be received on or before 

March 20, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available online at 

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

permit-application-import-5-bottlenosedolphins-file-no-28233-clearwatermarine-aquarium. 

You may submit comments, identified 

by NOAA–NMFS–2024–0140, by any of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal 

www.regulations.gov. To submit 

comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 

enter NOAA–NMFS–2024–0140 in the 

keyword search. Locate the document 

you wish to comment on from the 

resulting list and click on the 

‘‘Comment Now’’ icon on the right of 

that line. 

• Mail: Comments on the application 

should be addressed to: Permits and 

Conservation Division, Office of 

Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 EastWest Highway, Room 13705, Silver 

Spring, MD 20910; ATTN: Jolie 

Harrison, Chief, Permits and 

Conservation Division. 

Instructions: Comments must be 

submitted by one of the above methods. 

All comments received are a part of the 

public record and will generally be 

posted for public viewing on 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted 

voluntarily by the sender will be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats 

only. 

Those individuals requesting a public 

hearing should submit a written request 

to the Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division via one of the methods listed 

above. The request should set forth the 

specific reasons why a hearing on this 

amendment would be appropriate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Skidmore or Courtney Smith, 

Ph.D., (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

December 20, 2024 (89 FR 104107), the 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS) published notice of a permit 

application submitted by the Clearwater 

Marine Aquarium, 249 Windward 

Passage, Clearwater, FL 33767 

(Responsible Party: James Powell, 

Ph.D.,). The applicant is requesting to 

import up to five adult male bottlenose 

dolphins from Attica Zoological Park in 

Athina, Greece, to the Clearwater 

Marine Aquarium for public display. 

The requested duration of the permit is 

five years. In response to a request to 

extend the public comment period, 

NMFS is extending the public comment 

period for an additional 45 days. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
7662 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 13 / Wednesday, January 22, 2025 / Notices 

Dated: January 15, 2025. 

Julia M. Harrison, 

Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2025–01407 Filed 1–21–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0647–XE616] 

Fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico; 

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 87 Assessment 

Webinar VI for Gulf of Mexico White, 

Pink, and Brown Shrimp. 

SUMMARY: The SEDAR 87 assessment 

process of Gulf of Mexico white, pink, 

and brown shrimp will consist of a Data 

Workshop, a series of assessment 

webinars, and a Review Workshop. See 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

DATES: The SEDAR 87 Assessment 

Webinar VI will be held Tuesday, 

February 11, 2025, from 1 p.m. until 5 

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; (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 

Assessment Webinar VI are as follows: 

Participants will review the 

assessment modeling work to date and 

provide recommendations to the 

analytic team. 

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: January 15, 2025. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2025–01405 Filed 1–21–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE596] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to the Empire 

Wind Offshore Wind Energy Project 

Offshore of New York 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; modification 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 Construction of 

the Empire Wind Offshore Wind Project 

Offshore of New York, notification is 

hereby given that upon request from 

Empire Wind, LLC (Empire Wind), 

NMFS has modified a Letter of 

Authorization (LOA) issued to Empire 

Wind for the take of marine mammals 

incidental to activities associated with 

construction of the Empire Wind 

Offshore Wind Energy Project (hereafter 

known as the ‘‘Project’’) in Federal and 

State waters offshore New York. 

Specifically, NMFS has modified the 

LOA Holder’s name as well as 

mitigation and monitoring measures 

related to vessel strike avoidance, sound 

field verification reporting, and 

requirements for passive acoustic 

monitoring (PAM). NMFS has also made 

modifications to additional measures to 

improve clarify and better align with the 

Biological Opinion. NMFS has 

determined that these modifications do 

not change the findings made for the 

regulations and does not result in any 

change in the total estimated number of 

takes of marine mammals. 

DATES: The modified LOA is valid 

through February 21, 2029. 

ADDRESSES: The issued modified LOA 

may be obtained online at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

incidental-take-authorization-empireoffshore-wind-llc-construction-empirewind-project-ew1?check_logged_in=1. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessica Taylor, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of 

marine mammals, with certain 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1