Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 32123 

for such entries of subject merchandise 

in the amounts indicated above, in 

accordance with section 736(a) of the 

Act. If the ITC determines that material 

injury, or threat of material injury, does 

not exist, this proceeding will be 

terminated, and all estimated duties 

deposited as a result of the suspension 

of liquidation will be refunded or 

canceled. 

ITC Notification 

In accordance with section 735(d) of 

the Act, we will notify the ITC of our 

final affirmative determination of sales 

at LTFV. Because the final 

determination in this proceeding is 

affirmative, in accordance with section 

735(b) of the Act, the ITC will make its 

final determination as to whether the 

domestic industry in the United States 

is materially injured, or threatened with 

material injury, by reason of imports of 

freight rail couplers from China no later 

than 45 days after our final 

determination. 

If the ITC determines that material 

injury or threat of material injury does 

not exist, the proceeding will be 

terminated and all cash deposits will be 

refunded or canceled, as Commerce 

determines to be appropriate. If the ITC 

determines that such injury does exist, 

Commerce intends to issue an 

antidumping duty order directing CBP 

to assess, upon further instruction by 

Commerce, antidumping duties on all 

imports of the subject merchandise that 

are entered, or withdrawn from 

warehouse, for consumption on or after 

the effective date of the suspension of 

liquidation, as discussed above in the 

‘‘Continuation of Suspension of 

Liquidation’’ section. 

Notification Regarding Administrative 

Protective Order (APO) 

In the event that the ITC issues a final 

negative injury determination, this 

notice will serve as the only reminder 

to parties subject to an APO of their 

responsibility concerning the 

disposition of proprietary information 

disclosed under APO in accordance 

with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely 

written notification of the return/ 

destruction of APO materials or 

conversion to judicial protective order is 

hereby requested. Failure to comply 

with the regulations and terms of an 

APO is a violation which is subject to 

sanction. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

This determination is issued and 

published in pursuant to sections 735(d) 

and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 

351.210(c). 

Dated: May 23, 2022. 

Lisa W. Wang, 

Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 

Compliance. 

Appendix 

Scope of the Investigation 

The scope of this investigation covers 

freight rail car coupler systems and certain 

components thereof. Freight rail car coupler 

systems are composed of, at minimum, four 

main components (knuckles, coupler bodies, 

coupler yokes, and follower blocks, as 

specified below) but may also include other 

items (e.g., coupler locks, lock lift assemblies, 

knuckle pins, knuckle throwers, and rotors). 

The components covered by the investigation 

include: (1) E coupler bodies; (2) E/F coupler 

bodies; (3) F coupler bodies; (4) E yokes; (5) 

F yokes; (6) E knuckles; (7) F knuckles; (8) 

E type follower blocks; and (9) F type 

follower blocks, as set forth by the 

Association of American Railroads (AAR). 

The freight rail coupler components are 

included within the scope of the 

investigation when imported individually, or 

in some combination thereof, such as in the 

form of a coupler fit (a coupler body and 

knuckle assembled together), independent 

from a coupler system. 

Subject freight rail car coupler systems and 

components are included within the scope 

whether finished or unfinished, whether 

imported individually or with other subject 

or non-subject components, whether 

assembled or unassembled, whether mounted 

or unmounted, or if joined with non-subject 

merchandise, such as other non-subject 

system parts or a completed rail car. 

Finishing includes, but is not limited to, arc 

washing, welding, grinding, shot blasting, 

heat treatment, machining, and assembly of 

various components. When a subject coupler 

system or subject components are mounted 

on or to other non-subject merchandise, such 

as a rail car, only the coupler system or 

subject components are covered by the scope. 

The finished products covered by the 

scope of this investigation meet or exceed the 

AAR specifications of M–211, ‘‘Foundry and 

Product Approval Requirements for the 

Manufacture of Couplers, Coupler Yokes, 

Knuckles, Follower Blocks, and Coupler 

Parts’’ or AAR M–215 ‘‘Coupling Systems,’’ 

or other equivalent domestic or international 

standards (including any revisions to the 

standard(s)). 

The country of origin for subject coupler 

systems and components, whether fully 

assembled, unfinished or finished, or 

attached to a rail car, is the country where 

the subject coupler components were cast or 

forged. Subject merchandise includes coupler 

components as defined above that have been 

further processed or further assembled, 

including those coupler components attached 

to a rail car in third countries. Further 

processing includes, but is not limited to, arc 

washing, welding, grinding, shot blasting, 

heat treatment, painting, coating, priming, 

machining, and assembly of various 

components. The inclusion, attachment, 

joining, or assembly of non-subject 

components with subject components or 

coupler systems either in the country of 

manufacture of the in-scope product or in a 

third country does not remove the subject 

components or coupler systems from the 

scope. 

The coupler systems that are the subject of 

this investigation are currently classifiable in 

the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 

United States (HTSUS) statistical reporting 

number 8607.30.1000. Unfinished subject 

merchandise may also enter under HTSUS 

statistical reporting number 7326.90.8688. 

Subject merchandise attached to finished rail 

cars may also enter under HTSUS statistical 

reporting numbers 8606.10.0000, 

8606.30.0000, 8606.91.0000, 8606.92.0000, 

8606.99.0130, 8606.99.0160, or under 

subheading 9803.00.5000 if imported as an 

Instrument of International Traffic. These 

HTSUS subheadings are provided for 

convenience and customs purposes only; the 

written description of the scope of the 

investigation is dispositive. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11480 Filed 5–26–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB758] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to New England 

Wind, Phase 1 Park City Wind Marine 

Site Characterization Surveys 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; proposed incidental 

harassment authorization; request for 

comments on proposed authorization 

and possible renewal. 

SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request 

from Park City Wind LLC (PCW) for 

authorization to take marine mammals 

incidental to marine site 

characterization surveys for Phase 1 of 

the New England Wind Project located 

in the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM) Lease Area OCS– 

A0534 (Lease Area) in waters offshore of 

Massachusetts south through Long 

Island, New York. Pursuant to the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments 

on its proposal to issue an incidental 

harassment authorization (IHA) to 

incidentally take marine mammals 

during the specified activities. NMFS is 

also requesting comments on a possible 

one-time, one-year renewal that could 

be issued under certain circumstances 

and if all requirements are met, as 

described in Request for Public 

Comments at the end of this notice. 

NMFS will consider public comments 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
32124 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 

prior to making any final decision on 

the issuance of the requested MMPA 

authorizations and agency responses 

will be summarized in the final notice 

of our decision. 

DATES: Comments and information must 

be received no later than June 27, 2022. 

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.Potlock@

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. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted online at 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/ 

incidental-take-authorizations-undermarine-mammal-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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kelsey Potlock, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

Electronic copies of the application and 

supporting documents, as well as a list 

of the references cited in this document, 

may be obtained online at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-other-energyactivities-renewable. In case of problems 

accessing these documents, please call 

the contact listed above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of 

marine mammals, with certain 

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 

issued or, if the taking is limited to 

harassment, a notice of a proposed 

incidental take authorization may be 

provided to the public for review. 

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 the species or stocks for 

taking for certain subsistence uses 

(referred to in shorthand as 

‘‘mitigation’’); and requirements 

pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring 

and reporting of the takings are set forth. 

The definitions of all applicable MMPA 

statutory terms cited above are included 

in the relevant sections below. 

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 (i.e., the issuance of an 

IHA) with respect to potential impacts 

on the human environment. 

This action is consistent with 

categories of activities identified in 

Categorical Exclusion B4 (IHAs 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 has 

preliminarily determined that the 

issuance of the proposed IHA qualifies 

to be categorically excluded from 

further NEPA review. 

NMFS will review all comments 

submitted in response to this notice 

prior to concluding our NEPA process 

or making a final decision on the IHA 

request. 

Summary of Request 

On December 17, 2021, NMFS 

received a request from PCW for an IHA 

to take marine mammals incidental to 

marine site characterization surveys for 

Phase 1 of the New England Wind 

Project located in the Bureau of Ocean 

Energy Management (BOEM) Lease Area 

OCS–A0534 (Lease Area) in waters 

offshore of Massachusetts south through 

Long Island, New York. Following 

NMFS’ review of the draft application, 

revised versions were submitted on 

February 14, 2022 and March 25, 2022. 

The March 2022 revised version was 

deemed adequate and complete March 

25, 2022. PCW’s request is for take of 16 

species of marine mammals, by Level B 

harassment only. Neither PCW nor 

NMFS expects serious injury or 

mortality to result from this activity 

and, therefore, an IHA is appropriate. 

The proposed IHA would be effective 

for one year upon issuance. 

Description of Proposed Activity 

Overview 

New England Wind is located in the 

BOEM Lease Area OCS–A0534 and is 

comprised of Phase 1 PCW and Phase 2 

Commonwealth Wind (CW), along with 

associated offshore and onshore cabling, 

onshore substations, and onshore 

operations and maintenance (O&M) 

facilities (Figure1). Phase 2 is not part 

of this application. As part of its overall 

marine site characterization survey 

operations, PCW proposes to conduct 

high-resolution geophysical (HRG) 

surveys in the Lease Area. 

The purpose of the marine site 

characterization surveys are to obtain an 

assessment of seabed (geophysical, 

geotechnical, and geohazard), 

ecological, and archeological conditions 

within the footprint of a planned 

offshore wind facility development area. 

Underwater sound resulting from PCW’s 

proposed site characterization survey 

activities, specifically HRG surveys, has 

the potential to result in incidental take 

of marine mammals in the form of Level 

B harassment. 

Dates and Duration 

PCW anticipates that HRG survey 

activities would occur on approximately 

636 vessel days, with an assumed daily 

survey distance of 80 km per vessel. 

This schedule is based on assumed 24- 

hour operations. Each day that a vessel 

surveys approximately 80 km within 24 

hours would count as a single survey 

day, e.g., two survey vessels operating 

on the same day would count as two 

survey days. The use of concurrently 

surveying vessels would facilitate 

completion of all 636 vessel days within 

one year. PCW proposes to begin survey 

activities upon receipt of an IHA and 

continue for up to one year (though the 

actual duration will likely be shorter, 

particularly given the use of multiple 

vessels). The IHA would be effective for 

one year from the date of issuance. Site 

characterization activities within the 

Potential Survey Area are anticipated to 

begin May 2022 and will last up to one 

year with a total of 636 active sound 

source days. The number of active 

sound source days was calculated by 

dividing the total survey trackline 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 32125 

(50,880 kilometers (km)) by the 

approximate survey distance per day (80 

km) anticipated to be achieved. Survey 

operations are proposed to be conducted 

24 hours per day to minimize the 

overall duration of survey activities and 

the associated period of potential 

impact on marine species. While the 

HRG survey activities are estimated to 

occur over the course of a full year, the 

actual survey duration will be shorter 

given the use of multiple vessels. 

Specific Geographic Region 

HRG survey activities are proposed to 

occur in both Federal offshore waters 

(including Lease Area OCS–A 0534) and 

along potential OECCs in both Federal 

and State nearshore waters of 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

Connecticut, and New York. The 

proposed survey will be acquired within 

the area illustrated in Figure 1. Water 

depths in the lease area range from 

about 35 to 60 meters (m) (115 to 197 

feet (ft)). Water depths along the 

potential OECCs range from 2.5 m to 

>35 m (8 to >115 ft). 

Detailed Description of Specific Activity 

PCW proposes to conduct HRG survey 

operations, which may include single 

and multibeam depth sounding, seafloor 

imaging, and shallow and medium 

penetration sub-bottom profiling. The 

HRG surveys may be conducted using 

any or all of the following equipment 

types: Side scan sonar, multibeam 

echosounder, magnetometers and 

gradiometers, parametric sub-bottom 

profiler (SBP), compressed high 

intensity radar pulse (CHIRP) SBP, 

boomers, or sparkers. Vessels would 

generally conduct survey effort at a 

transit speed of approximately 4 knots 

(kn; 2.1 meters per sec, m/s), which 

equates to 110 km per 24-hr period. 

However, based on past survey 

experience (i.e., knowledge of typical 

daily downtime due to weather, system 

malfunctions, etc.), PCW assumes 80 km 

as the average distance surveyed per 24 

hours. On this basis (and as mentioned 

previously), a total of 636 survey days 

are expected. 

To facilitate completion of all 636 

survey days across the survey area (see 

Figure 1) within one year, PCW 

proposes to use multiple vessels to 

acquire the HRG survey data. Up to 

three HRG vessels are currently 

proposed to operate concurrently within 

the survey area. HRG survey activities 

will be conducted by vessels that can 

accomplish the survey goals in specific 

survey areas. Each vessel will maintain 

both the required course and a survey 

speed required to cover approximately 

80 km (43 nm) per day during line 

acquisition, with consideration to 

weather delays, equipment 

maintenance, and crew availability. 

Vessel survey speed is anticipated to be 

approximately 4 knots (2.1 m/s). 

Acoustic sources planned for use 

during the proposed HRG survey 

activities include the following 

(operating frequencies are presented in 

hertz (Hz) and kilohertz (kHz): 

D Shallow penetration non-impulsive, 

non-parametric sub-bottom profilers 

(i.e., CHIRP SBPs) are used to map the 

near-surface stratigraphy (top 0 to 5 m 

(0 to 16 feet (ft))) of sediment below 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1EN27MY22.005</GPH>
32126 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 

seabed). A CHIRP system emits sonar 

pulses that increase in frequency from 

about 2 to 20 kHz over time. The 

frequency range can be adjusted to meet 

project variables. Rather than being 

towed, these sources are typically 

mounted on a pole or the hull of the 

vessel, reducing the likelihood that an 

animal would be exposed to the signal; 

and, 

D Medium penetration, impulsive 

sources (i.e., boomers and sparker) are 

used to map deeper subsurface 

stratigraphy. A boomer is a broadband 

source operating in the 3.5 Hz to 10 kHz 

frequency range. Sparkers create 

omnidirectional acoustic pulses from 50 

Hz to 4 kHz that can penetrate several 

hundred meters into the seafloor. These 

sources are typically towed behind the 

vessel. 

Operation of the following survey 

equipment types is not expected to 

present reasonable risk of marine 

mammal take, and will not be discussed 

further beyond the brief summaries 

provided below. 

• Non-impulsive, parametric SBPs are 

used for providing high density data in 

sub-bottom profiles that are typically 

required for cable routes, very shallow 

water, and archaeological surveys. 

These sources generate short, very 

narrow-beam (1° to 3.5°) signals at high 

frequencies (generally around 85–100 

kHz). The narrow beamwidth 

significantly reduces the potential that a 

marine mammal could be exposed to the 

signal, while the high frequency of 

operation means that the signal is 

rapidly attenuated in seawater. These 

sources are typically mounted on the 

hull of the vessel or deployed from a 

side pole rather than towed behind the 

vessel. 

• Ultra-short baseline (USBL) 

positioning systems are used to provide 

high accuracy ranges by measuring the 

time between the acoustic pulses 

transmitted by the vessel transceiver 

and a transponder (or beacon) necessary 

to produce the acoustic profile. It is a 

two-component system with a polemounted transceiver and one or several 

transponders mounted on other survey 

equipment. USBLs are expected to 

produce extremely small acoustic 

propagation distances in their typical 

operating configuration. 

• Single and Multibeam 

echosounders (MBESs) are used to 

determine water depths and general 

bottom topography. The proposed 

MBESs all have operating frequencies 

>180kHz and are therefore outside the 

general hearing range of marine 

mammals. 

• Side scan sonar (SSS) is used for 

seabed sediment classification purposes 

and to identify natural and man-made 

acoustic targets on the seafloor. The 

proposed SSSs all have operating 

frequencies >180 kHz and are therefore 

outside the general hearing range of 

marine mammals. 

HRG survey activities will occur in 

discrete segments corresponding to the 

following general areas: 

• Lease Area OCS–A 0534—Inclusive 

of potential wind turbine generator 

(WTG) locations, electrical service 

platform (ESP) location(s), and interarray cable corridors; and 

• OECC route—One or more potential 

OECC routes through Federal and State 

waters located within the Potential 

Survey Area from northern 

Massachusetts to Long Island as shown 

in Figure 1. 

The maximum survey area has been 

selected to provide operational 

flexibility and to cover the possibility of 

multiple landfall locations associated 

with the OECC. Track line spacing for 

HRG survey activities will align with 

BOEM Guidelines for Providing 

Archaeological and Historic Property 

Information pursuant to 30 CFR part 585 

(March 2017) and for Providing 

Geophysical, Geotechnical, and 

Geohazard Information pursuant to 30 

CFR part 585 (July 2015) (BOEM 2015). 

Surveys are planned to support standard 

geophysical, geotechnical, and 

geohazard investigations as well as 

potential unexploded ordnance (UXO) 

and benthic habitat studies. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF REPRESENTATIVE HRG EQUIPMENT

Equipment System Frequency 

(kHz) 

Beam 

width 

(°) 

Pulse 

duration 

(ms) 

Repetition 

rate 

(Hz) 

In-beam 

Correction 

(dB) 

Out-of-beam 

Source 

level 

(dB re 1 

μPa m) 

Peak 

source 

level 

(dB re 1 

μPa m) 

Source 

level 

(dB re 1 

μPa m) 

Peak 

source 

level 

(dB re 1 

μPa m) 

Shallow subbottom profiler.EdgeTech Chirp 216 .................. 2–16 65 2 3.75 178 182 ¥8.1 169.9 173.9 

Deep seismic 

profiler.

Applied Acoustics AA251 Boomer.0.2–15 180 0.8 2 205 212 0.0 205.0 212.0 

GeoMarine Geo Spark 2000 

(400 tip).

0.05–3 180 3.4 1 203 213 0.0 203.0 213.0 

Note: Edge Tech Chirp 512i used as proxy source for Edge Tech 216, as Chirp 512i has similar operation settings as Chirp 216. SIG ELC 820 Sparker used as 

proxy for GeoMarine Geo Spark 2000 (400 tip), as SIG ELC 820 has similar operation settings as Geo Spark 2000. See Crocker and Fratantonio (2016) and Appendix A of PCW’s application for more information. 

dB—decibel, RMS—Root mean square, 1 μPa¥1 microPascal. 

Proposed mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting measures are described in 

detail later in this document (please see 

Proposed Mitigation and Proposed 

Monitoring and Reporting). 

Description of Marine Mammals in the 

Area of Specified Activities 

Sections 3 and 4 of the application 

summarize available information 

regarding status and trends, distribution 

and habitat preferences, and behavior 

and life history, of the potentially 

affected species. Additional information 

regarding population trends and threats 

may be found in NMFS’ Stock 

Assessment Reports (SARs; 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/marinemammal-stock-assessments) and more 

general information about these species 

(e.g., physical and behavioral 

descriptions) may be found on NMFS’ 

website (www.fisheries.noaa.gov/findspecies). 

Table 2 lists all species or stocks for 

which take is expected and proposed to 

be authorized for this action, and 

summarizes information related to the 

population or stock, including 

regulatory status under the MMPA and 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) and 

potential biological removal (PBR), 

where known. For taxonomy, NMFS 

follows the Committee on Taxonomy 

(2021). PBR is defined by the MMPA as 

the maximum number of animals, not 

including natural mortalities, that may 

be removed from a marine mammal 

stock while allowing that stock to reach 

or maintain its optimum sustainable 

population (as described in NMFS’ 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 32127 

SARs). While no mortality is anticipated 

or would be authorized here, PBR and 

annual serious injury and mortality 

from anthropogenic sources are 

included as gross indicators of the status 

of the species and other threats. 

Marine mammal abundance estimates 

presented in this document represent 

the total number of individuals that 

make up a given stock or the total 

number estimated within a particular 

study or survey area. NMFS’ stock 

abundance estimates for most species 

represent the total estimate of 

individuals within the geographic area, 

if known, that comprises that stock. For 

some species, this geographic area may 

extend beyond U.S. waters. All managed 

stocks in this region are assessed in 

NMFS’ U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico 

SARs. All values presented in Table 2 

are the most recent available at the time 

of publication and are available in the 

Draft 2021 SARs (Hayes et al., 2021), 

available at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/marinemammal-stock-assessment-reports. 

TABLE 2—MARINE MAMMAL SPECIES LIKELY TO OCCUR NEAR THE PROJECT AREA THAT MAY BE AFFECTED BY PCW’S

ACTIVITY

Common name Scientific name Stock 

ESA/ 

MMPA 

status; 

strategic 

(Y/N) 1

Stock abundance 

(CV, Nmin, most recent 

abundance 

survey) 2

PBR Annual 

M/SI 3

Order Cetartiodactyla—Cetacea—Superfamily Mysticeti (baleen whales) 

Family Balaenidae: 

North Atlantic right whale 4 Eubalaena glacialis ................... Western North Atlantic (WNA) .. E/D; Y 368 (0; 364; 2019) .......... 0.7 7.7 

Family Balaenopteridae 

(rorquals): 

Humpback whale ................ Megaptera novaeangliae .......... Gulf of Maine ............................ -/-; Y 1,393 (0.15; 1,375; 2016) 22 58 

Fin whale ............................ Balaenoptera physalus ............. WNA .......................................... E/D; Y 6,802 (0.24; 5,573; 2016) 11 2.35 

Sei whale ............................ Balaenoptera borealis ............... Nova Scotia .............................. E/D; Y 6,292 (1.02; 3,098; 2016) 6.2 1.2 

Minke whale ........................ Balaenoptera acutorostrata ...... Canadian East Coast ................ -/-; N 21,968 (0.31; 17,002; 

2016).

170 10.6 

Blue whale .......................... Balaenoptera musculus ............ WNA .......................................... E/D; Y Unknown (unknown; 402; 

2019).

0.8 0 

Superfamily Odontoceti (toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises) 

Family Physeteridae: 

Sperm whale ....................... Physeter macrocephalus .......... North Atlantic ............................ E/D; Y 4,349 (0.28;3,451; 2016) 3.9 0 

Family Delphinidae: 

Long-finned pilot whale ...... Globicephala melas .................. WNA .......................................... -/-; N 39,215 (0.30; 30,627; 

2016).

306 29 

Short finned pilot whale ...... Globicephala macrorhynchus ... WNA .......................................... -/-; N 28,924 (0.24; 23,637; 

2016).

236 136 

Bottlenose dolphin .............. Tursiops truncatus .................... WNA Offshore ........................... -/-; N 62,851 (0.23; 51,914; 

2016).

519 28 

WNA Northern Migratory Coastal.-/D;Y 6,639 (0.41, 4,759, 2016) 48 12.2–21.5 

Common dolphin ................ Delphinus delphis ..................... WNA .......................................... -/-; N 172,974 (0.21; 145,216; 

2016).

1,452 390 

Atlantic white-sided dolphin Lagenorhynchus acutus ............ WNA .......................................... -/-; N 93,233 (0.71; 54,443; 

2016).

544 27 

Atlantic spotted dolphin ...... Stenella frontalis ....................... WNA .......................................... -/-; N 39,921 (0.27; 32,032; 

2016).

320 0 

Risso’s dolphin ................... Grampus griseus ...................... WNA .......................................... -/-; N 35,215 (0.19; 30,051; 

2016).

303 54.3 

Family Phocoenidae (porpoises): 

Harbor porpoise .................. Phocoena phocoena ................. Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy ...... -/-; N 95,543 (0.31; 74,034; 

2016).

851 164 

Order Carnivora—Superfamily Pinnipedia 

Family Phocidae (earless seals): 

Gray seal 5 .......................... Halichoerus grypus ................... WNA .......................................... -/-; N 27,300 (0.22; 22,785, 

2029).

1,458 4,453 

Harbor seal ......................... Phoca vitulina ........................... WNA .......................................... -/-; N 61,336 (0.08; 57,637, 

2020).

1,729 339 

1ESA status: Endangered (E), Threatened (T)/MMPA status: Depleted (D). A dash (-) indicates that the species is not listed under the ESA or designated as depleted under the MMPA. Under the MMPA, a strategic stock is one for which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds PBR or which is determined to be 

declining and likely to be listed under the ESA within the foreseeable future. Any species or stock listed under the ESA is automatically designated under the MMPA 

as depleted and as a strategic stock. 2 NMFS marine mammal stock assessment reports online at: www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-stock-assessments. CV is 

coefficient of variation; Nmin is the minimum estimate of stock abundance. In some cases, CV is not applicable. 3These values, found in NMFS’ SARs, represent annual levels of human-caused mortality plus serious injury from all sources combined (e.g., commercial fisheries, 

ship strike). 4The draft 2022 SARs have yet to be released; however, NMFS has updated its species web page to recognize the population estimate for NARWs is now below 

350 animals (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/north-atlantic-right-whale). 5 NMFS’ gray seal stock abundance estimate (and associated PBR value) applies to U.S. population only. Total stock abundance (including animals in Canada) is 

approximately 450,000. The annual M/SI value given is for the total stock. 

As indicated above, all 16 species in 

Table 2 temporally and spatially cooccur with the activity to the degree that take is reasonably likely to occur. In 

addition to what is included in Sections 

3 and 4 of the application, the SARs, 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
32128 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 

and NMFS’ website, further detail 

informing the baseline for select species 

(i.e., information regarding current 

Unusual Mortality Events (UME) and 

important habitat areas) is provided 

below. 

North Atlantic Right Whale 

The North Atlantic right whale 

(NARW) is considered one of the most 

critically endangered populations of 

large whales in the world and has been 

listed as a Federal endangered species 

since 1970. The Western Atlantic stock 

is considered depleted under the MMPA 

(Hayes et al. 2021). There is a recovery 

plan (NOAA Fisheries 2017) for the 

NARW and recently there was a fiveyear review of the species (NOAA 

Fisheries 2017). The NARW had a 2.8 

percent recovery rate between 1990 and 

2011 (Hayes et al. 2021). 

Elevated NARW mortalities have 

occurred since June 7, 2017, along the 

U.S. and Canadian coast with the 

leading category for the cause of death 

for this UME as ‘‘human interaction,’’ 

specifically from entanglements or 

vessel strikes. As of April 11, 2022, a 

total of 34 confirmed dead stranded 

whales (21 in Canada; 13 in the United 

States) have been documented. The 

cumulative total number of animals in 

the NARW UME has been updated to 50 

individuals to include both the 

confirmed mortalities (dead stranded or 

floaters) (n=34) and seriously injured 

free-swimming whales (n=16) to better 

reflect the confirmed number of whales 

likely removed from the population 

during the UME and more accurately 

reflect the population impacts. More 

information is available online at: 

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

national/marine-life-distress/2017-2022- 

north-atlantic-right-whale-unusualmortality-event. 

NMFS’ regulations at 50 CFR part 

224.105 designated nearshore waters of 

the Mid-Atlantic Bight as Mid-Atlantic 

U.S. Seasonal Management Areas 

(SMAs) for North Atlantic right whales 

in 2008. SMAs were developed to 

reduce the threat of collisions between 

ships and North Atlantic right whales 

around their migratory route and 

calving grounds. The survey area 

overlaps with the Cape Cod Bay (active 

between January 1 and May 15), Off 

Race Point (active between March 1 and 

April 30), Great South Channel (active 

between April 1 and July 31), and MidAtlantic Migratory (active between 

November 1 and April 30) SMAs. 

The proposed survey area also 

partially overlaps with the North 

Atlantic right whale feeding Biologically 

Important Areas (BIAs). One feeding 

BIA is located north of the HRG Survey 

Area at Cape Cod Bay and 

Massachusetts Bay and occurs from 

February-April, and another is located 

northeast of the HRG Survey Area in the 

Great South Channel, from April-June. 

The proposed survey also overlaps with 

part of the migratory corridor BIA for 

North Atlantic right whales (MarchApril and November-December) that 

extends from the coast to the 

continental shelf break, and from 

Massachusetts to Florida (LeBrecque et 

al., 2015). A map showing designated 

BIAs is available at: https://

cetsound.noaa.gov/biologicallyimportant-area-map. In addition to 

currently designated feeding BIAs, 

Oleson et al. (2020) identified the area 

south of Martha’s Vineyard and 

Nantucket, referred to as ‘‘South of the 

Islands,’’ as a newer, year-round, core 

North Atlantic right whale foraging 

habitat. The South of the Islands area is 

also within the bounds of the proposed 

survey area. 

There are two designated critical 

habitat areas for the NARW, one of 

which overlaps the project area: The 

Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank region is 

located northeast of the HRG survey 

area, but parts of it overlap the proposed 

survey area, and the southeast calving 

grounds from North Carolina to Florida 

(NMFS 2016a) which does not overlap 

the survey area. All vessels greater than 

19.8 m (65 ft) in overall length must 

operate at speeds of 10 knots (5.1 meters 

per second (m/s)) or less within these 

areas during specific time periods. 

Humpback Whale 

NMFS recently evaluated the status of 

the species, and on September 8, 2016, 

NMFS divided the species into 14 

distinct population segments (DPS), 

removed the species-level listing, and in 

its place listed four DPSs as endangered 

and one DPS as threatened (81 FR 

62260; September 8, 2016). The 

remaining nine DPSs were not listed. 

The West Indies DPS, which is not 

listed under the ESA, is the only DPS of 

humpback whale that is expected to 

occur in the survey area. Bettridge et al. 

(2015) estimated the size of this 

population at 12,312 (95 percent CI 

8,688–15,954) whales in 2004–05, 

which is consistent with previous 

population estimates of approximately 

10,000–11,000 whales (Stevick et al., 

2003; Smith et al., 1999) and the 

increasing trend for the West Indies DPS 

(Bettridge et al., 2015). Whales 

occurring in the survey area are 

considered to be from the West Indies 

DPS, but are not necessarily from the 

Gulf of Maine feeding population 

managed as a stock by NMFS. Barco et 

al., 2002 estimated that, based on photoidentification, only 39 percent of 

individual humpback whales observed 

along the mid- and south Atlantic U.S. 

coast are from the Gulf of Maine stock. 

The northern and most eastern portions 

of the proposed survey area partially 

overlap with the humpback whale 

feeding BIA (March through December), 

which extends throughout the Gulf of 

Maine, Stellwagen Bank, and Great 

South Channel (LeBrecque et al., 2015). 

Since January 2016, elevated 

humpback whale mortalities have 

occurred along the Atlantic coast from 

Maine to Florida. Partial or full 

necropsy examinations have been 

conducted on approximately half of the 

158 known cases (as of April 11, 2022). 

Of the whales examined, about 50 

percent had evidence of human 

interaction, either ship strike or 

entanglement. While a portion of the 

whales have shown evidence of premortem vessel strike, this finding is not 

consistent across all whales examined 

and more research is needed. NOAA is 

consulting with researchers that are 

conducting studies on the humpback 

whale populations, and these efforts 

may provide information on changes in 

whale distribution and habitat use that 

could provide additional insight into 

how these vessel interactions occurred. 

More information is available at: https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-life-distress/2016-2022- 

humpback-whale-unusual-mortalityevent-along-atlantic-coast. 

Minke Whale 

Since January 2017, elevated minke 

whale mortalities have occurred along 

the Atlantic coast from Maine through 

South Carolina, with a total of 122 

strandings (as of April 11, 2022). This 

event has been declared a UME. Full or 

partial necropsy examinations were 

conducted on more than 60 percent of 

the whales. Preliminary findings in 

several of the whales have shown 

evidence of human interactions or 

infectious disease, but these findings are 

not consistent across all of the whales 

examined, so more research is needed. 

More information is available at: https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-life-distress/2017-2022-minkewhale-unusual-mortality-event-alongatlantic-coast. 

The northern and most eastern 

portions of the proposed survey area 

partially overlap with one of the minke 

whale feeding BIAs (March through 

November), which includes the 

southern and southwestern section of 

the Gulf of Maine, including Georges 

Bank, the Great South Channel, Cape 

Cod Bay and Massachusetts Bay, 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 32129 

Stellwagen Bank, Cape Anne, and 

Jeffreys Ledge (LeBrecque et al., 2015). 

Other Biologically Important Areas for 

Large Whales 

The survey area is flanked by two 

BIAs for feeding fin whales, the area to 

the northeast of Cape Cod is considered 

a BIA year-round, while the area off the 

tip of Long Island overlapping with the 

southwest area of the HRG survey area 

is a BIA from March to October 

(LaBrecque et al. 2015). Both of these 

BIAs are located within the proposed 

survey area. For sei whales, a BIA for 

feeding occurs both to the north and to 

the east of the HRG survey area from 

May through November (LaBrecque et 

al. 2015). A portion of the BIA is located 

within the proposed survey area. 

Seals 

Since July 2018, elevated numbers of 

harbor seal and gray seal mortalities 

have occurred across Maine, New 

Hampshire and Massachusetts. This 

event was declared a UME. 

Additionally, stranded seals have 

shown clinical signs as far south as 

Virginia, although not in elevated 

numbers, therefore the UME 

investigation now encompasses all seal 

strandings from Maine to Virginia. Ice 

seals (harp and hooded seals) have also 

been stranding with clinical signs, again 

not in elevated numbers, and those two 

seal species have also been added to the 

UME investigation. A total of 3,152 

reported strandings (of all species) had 

occurred from July 1, 2018, through 

March 13, 2020. Full or partial necropsy 

examinations have been conducted on 

some of the seals and samples have been 

collected for testing. Based on tests 

conducted thus far, the main pathogen 

found in the seals is phocine distemper 

virus. NMFS is performing additional 

testing to identify any other factors that 

may be involved in this UME. Closure 

of this UME is pending. Information on 

this UME is available online at: 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-englandmid-atlantic/marine-life-distress/2018– 

2020-pinniped-unusual-mortality-eventalong. 

Marine Mammal Hearing 

Hearing is the most important sensory 

modality for marine mammals 

underwater, and exposure to 

anthropogenic sound can have 

deleterious effects. To appropriately 

assess the potential effects of exposure 

to sound, it is necessary to understand 

the frequency ranges marine mammals 

are able to hear. Current data indicate 

that not all marine mammal species 

have equal hearing capabilities (e.g., 

Richardson et al., 1995; Wartzok and 

Ketten, 1999; Au and Hastings, 2008). 

To reflect this, Southall et al. (2007) 

recommended that marine mammals be 

divided into functional hearing groups 

based on directly measured or estimated 

hearing ranges on the basis of available 

behavioral response data, audiograms 

derived using auditory evoked potential 

techniques, anatomical modeling, and 

other data. Note that no direct 

measurements of hearing ability have 

been successfully completed for 

mysticetes (i.e., low-frequency 

cetaceans). Subsequently, NMFS (2018) 

described generalized hearing ranges for 

these marine mammal hearing groups. 

Generalized hearing ranges were chosen 

based on the approximately 65 decibel 

(dB) threshold from the normalized 

composite audiograms, with the 

exception for lower limits for lowfrequency cetaceans where the lower 

bound was deemed to be biologically 

implausible and the lower bound from 

Southall et al. (2007) retained. Marine 

mammal hearing groups and their 

associated hearing ranges are provided 

in Table 3. 

TABLE 3—MARINE MAMMAL HEARING GROUPS

[NMFS, 2018] 

Hearing group Generalized hearing 

range * 

Low-frequency (LF) cetaceans (baleen whales) ......................................................................................................................... 7 Hz to 35 kHz. 

Mid-frequency (MF) cetaceans (dolphins, toothed whales, beaked whales, bottlenose whales) .............................................. 150 Hz to 160 kHz. 

High-frequency (HF) cetaceans (true porpoises, Kogia, river dolphins, cephalorhynchid, Lagenorhynchus cruciger & L. 

australis).

275 Hz to 160 kHz. 

Phocid pinnipeds (PW) (underwater) (true seals) ....................................................................................................................... 50 Hz to 86 kHz. 

Otariid pinnipeds (OW) (underwater) (sea lions and fur seals) .................................................................................................. 60 Hz to 39 kHz. 

* Represents the generalized hearing range for the entire group as a composite (i.e., all species within the group), where individual species’ 

hearing ranges are typically not as broad. Generalized hearing range chosen based on ∼65 dB threshold from normalized composite audiogram, 

with the exception for lower limits for LF cetaceans (Southall et al. 2007) and PW pinniped (approximation). 

The pinniped functional hearing 

group was modified from Southall et al. 

(2007) on the basis of data indicating 

that phocid species have consistently 

demonstrated an extended frequency 

range of hearing compared to otariids, 

especially in the higher frequency range 

(Hemila ̈ et al., 2006; Kastelein et al., 

2009). 

For more detail concerning these 

groups and associated frequency ranges, 

please see NMFS (2018) for a review of 

available information. Sixteen marine 

mammal species (14 cetacean and 2 

pinniped (both phocid) species) have 

the reasonable potential to co-occur 

with the proposed survey activities. 

Please refer to Table 2. Of the cetacean 

species that may be present, six are 

classified as low-frequency cetaceans 

(i.e., all mysticete species), seven are 

classified as mid-frequency cetaceans 

(i.e., all delphinid species and the sperm 

whale), and one is classified as a highfrequency cetacean (i.e., harbor 

porpoise). 

Potential Effects of Specified Activities 

on Marine Mammals and Their Habitat 

This section includes a summary and 

discussion of the ways that PCW’s 

specified activity may impact marine 

mammals and their habitat. Detailed 

descriptions of the potential effects of 

similar specified activities have been 

provided in other recent Federal 

Register notices, including for survey 

activities using the same methodology, 

over a similar amount of time, in 

Atlantic waters. (e.g., 82 FR 20563, May 

3, 2017; 85 FR 36537, June 17, 2020; 85 

FR 37848, June 24, 2020; 85 FR 48179, 

August 10, 2020, 86 FR 11239, February 

24, 2021; 86 FR 28061, May 25, 2021). 

No significant new information is 

available, and we refer the reader to 

these documents rather than repeating 

the details here. The Estimated Take 

section includes a quantitative analysis 

of the number of individuals that are 

expected to be taken by PCW’s activity. 

The Negligible Impact Analysis and 

Determination section considers the 

potential effects of the specified activity, 

the Estimated Take section, and the 

Proposed Mitigation section, to draw 

conclusions regarding the likely impacts 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
32130 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 

of these activities on the reproductive 

success or survivorship of individuals 

and how those impacts on individuals 

are likely to impact marine mammal 

species or stocks. 

Background on Active Acoustic Sound 

Sources and Acoustic Terminology 

This subsection contains a brief 

technical background on sound, on the 

characteristics of certain sound types, 

and on metrics used in this proposal 

inasmuch as the information is relevant 

to the specified activity and to the 

summary of the potential effects of the 

specified activity on marine mammals. 

For general information on sound and 

its interaction with the marine 

environment, please see, e.g., Au and 

Hastings (2008); Richardson et al. 

(1995); Urick (1983). 

Sound travels in waves, the basic 

components of which are frequency, 

wavelength, velocity, and amplitude. 

Frequency is the number of pressure 

waves that pass by a reference point per 

unit of time and is measured in hertz or 

cycles per second. Wavelength is the 

distance between two peaks or 

corresponding points of a sound wave 

(length of one cycle). Higher frequency 

sounds have shorter wavelengths than 

lower frequency sounds, and typically 

attenuate (decrease) more rapidly, 

except in certain cases in shallower 

water. Amplitude is the height of the 

sound pressure wave or the ‘‘loudness’’ 

of a sound and is typically described 

using the relative unit of the decibel. A 

sound pressure level (SPL) in dB is 

described as the ratio between a 

measured pressure and a reference 

pressure (for underwater sound, this is 

1 microPascal (mPa)), and is a 

logarithmic unit that accounts for large 

variations in amplitude. Therefore, a 

relatively small change in dB 

corresponds to large changes in sound 

pressure. The source level (SL) 

represents the SPL referenced at a 

distance of 1 m from the source 

(referenced to 1 mPa), while the received 

level is the SPL at the listener’s position 

(referenced to 1 mPa). 

Root mean square (rms) is the 

quadratic mean sound pressure over the 

duration of an impulse. Root mean 

square is calculated by squaring all of 

the sound amplitudes, averaging the 

squares, and then taking the square root 

of the average (Urick, 1983). Root mean 

square accounts for both positive and 

negative values; squaring the pressures 

makes all values positive so that they 

may be accounted for in the summation 

of pressure levels (Hastings and Popper, 

2005). This measurement is often used 

in the context of discussing behavioral 

effects, in part because behavioral 

effects, which often result from auditory 

cues, may be better expressed through 

averaged units than by peak pressures. 

Sound exposure level (SEL; 

represented as dB re 1 mPa2-s) represents 

the total energy in a stated frequency 

band over a stated time interval or event 

and considers both intensity and 

duration of exposure. The per-pulse SEL 

is calculated over the time window 

containing the entire pulse (i.e., 100 

percent of the acoustic energy). SEL is 

a cumulative metric; it can be 

accumulated over a single pulse, or 

calculated over periods containing 

multiple pulses. Cumulative SEL 

represents the total energy accumulated 

by a receiver over a defined time 

window or during an event. Peak sound 

pressure (also referred to as zero-to-peak 

sound pressure or 0-pk) is the maximum 

instantaneous sound pressure 

measurable in the water at a specified 

distance from the source and is 

represented in the same units as the rms 

sound pressure. 

When underwater objects vibrate or 

activity occurs, sound-pressure waves 

are created. These waves alternately 

compress and decompress the water as 

the sound wave travels. Underwater 

sound waves radiate in a manner similar 

to ripples on the surface of a pond and 

may be either directed in a beam or 

beams or may radiate in all directions 

(omnidirectional sources). The 

compressions and decompressions 

associated with sound waves are 

detected as changes in pressure by 

aquatic life and man-made sound 

receptors such as hydrophones. 

Even in the absence of sound from the 

specified activity, the underwater 

environment is typically loud due to 

ambient sound, which is defined as 

environmental background sound levels 

lacking a single source or point 

(Richardson et al., 1995). The sound 

level of a region is defined by the total 

acoustical energy being generated by 

known and unknown sources. These 

sources may include physical (e.g., 

wind and waves, earthquakes, ice, 

atmospheric sound), biological (e.g., 

sounds produced by marine mammals, 

fish, and invertebrates), and 

anthropogenic (e.g., vessels, dredging, 

construction) sound. A number of 

sources contribute to ambient sound, 

including wind and waves, which are a 

main source of naturally occurring 

ambient sound for frequencies between 

200 Hz and 50 kHz (Mitson, 1995). In 

general, ambient sound levels tend to 

increase with increasing wind speed 

and wave height. Precipitation can 

become an important component of total 

sound at frequencies above 500 Hz, and 

possibly down to 100 Hz during quiet 

times. Marine mammals can contribute 

significantly to ambient sound levels, as 

can some fish and snapping shrimp. The 

frequency band for biological 

contributions is from approximately 12 

Hz to over 100 kHz. Sources of ambient 

sound related to human activity include 

transportation (surface vessels), 

dredging and construction, oil and gas 

drilling and production, geophysical 

surveys, sonar, and explosions. Vessel 

noise typically dominates the total 

ambient sound for frequencies between 

20 and 300 Hz. In general, the 

frequencies of anthropogenic sounds are 

below 1 kHz and, if higher frequency 

sound levels are created, they attenuate 

rapidly. 

The sum of the various natural and 

anthropogenic sound sources that 

comprise ambient sound at any given 

location and time depends not only on 

the source levels (as determined by 

current weather conditions and levels of 

biological and human activity) but also 

on the ability of sound to propagate 

through the environment. In turn, sound 

propagation is dependent on the 

spatially and temporally varying 

properties of the water column and sea 

floor, and is frequency-dependent. As a 

result of the dependence on a large 

number of varying factors, ambient 

sound levels can be expected to vary 

widely over both coarse and fine spatial 

and temporal scales. Sound levels at a 

given frequency and location can vary 

by 10–20 dB from day to day 

(Richardson et al., 1995). The result is 

that, depending on the source type and 

its intensity, sound from the specified 

activity may be a negligible addition to 

the local environment or could form a 

distinctive signal that may affect marine 

mammals. Details of source types are 

described in the following text. 

Sounds are often considered to fall 

into one of two general types: Pulsed 

and non-pulsed (defined in the 

following). The distinction between 

these two sound types is important 

because they have differing potential to 

cause physical effects, particularly with 

regard to hearing (e.g., Ward, 1997 in 

Southall et al., 2007). Please see 

Southall et al. (2007) for an in-depth 

discussion of these concepts. The 

distinction between these two sound 

types is not always obvious, as certain 

signals share properties of both pulsed 

and non-pulsed sounds. A signal near a 

source could be categorized as a pulse, 

but due to propagation effects as it 

moves farther from the source, the 

signal duration becomes longer (e.g., 

Greene and Richardson, 1988). 

Pulsed sound sources (e.g., airguns, 

explosions, gunshots, sonic booms, 

impact pile driving) produce signals 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 32131 

that are brief (typically considered to be 

less than one second), broadband, atonal 

transients (ANSI, 1986, 2005; Harris, 

1998; NIOSH, 1998; ISO, 2003) and 

occur either as isolated events or 

repeated in some succession. Pulsed 

sounds are all characterized by a 

relatively rapid rise from ambient 

pressure to a maximal pressure value 

followed by a rapid decay period that 

may include a period of diminishing, 

oscillating maximal and minimal 

pressures, and generally have an 

increased capacity to induce physical 

injury as compared with sounds that 

lack these features. 

Non-pulsed sounds can be tonal, 

narrowband, or broadband, brief or 

prolonged, and may be either 

continuous or intermittent (ANSI, 1995; 

NIOSH, 1998). Some of these nonpulsed sounds can be transient signals 

of short duration but without the 

essential properties of pulses (e.g., rapid 

rise time). Examples of non-pulsed 

sounds include those produced by 

vessels, aircraft, machinery operations 

such as drilling or dredging, vibratory 

pile driving, and active sonar systems. 

The duration of such sounds, as 

received at a distance, can be greatly 

extended in a highly reverberant 

environment. 

Sparkers and boomers produce pulsed 

signals with energy in the frequency 

ranges specified in Table 1. The 

amplitude of the acoustic wave emitted 

from sparker sources is equal in all 

directions (i.e., omnidirectional), while 

other sources planned for use during the 

proposed surveys have some degree of 

directionality to the beam, as specified 

in Table 1. Other sources planned for 

use during the proposed survey activity 

(e.g., CHIRP SBPs) should be considered 

non-pulsed, intermittent sources. 

Summary on Specific Potential Effects 

of Acoustic Sound Sources 

Underwater sound from active 

acoustic sources can include one or 

more of the following: temporary or 

permanent hearing impairment, nonauditory physical or physiological 

effects, behavioral disturbance, stress, 

and masking. The degree of effect is 

intrinsically related to the signal 

characteristics, received level, distance 

from the source, and duration of the 

sound exposure. Marine mammals 

exposed to high-intensity sound, or to 

lower-intensity sound for prolonged 

periods, can experience hearing 

threshold shift (TS), which is the loss of 

hearing sensitivity at certain frequency 

ranges (Finneran, 2015). TS can be 

permanent (PTS), in which case the loss 

of hearing sensitivity is not fully 

recoverable, or temporary (TTS), in 

which case the animal’s hearing 

threshold would recover over time 

(Southall et al., 2007). 

Animals in the vicinity of PCW’s 

proposed HRG survey activity are 

unlikely to incur even TTS due to the 

characteristics of the sound sources, 

which include relatively low source 

levels (178 to 205 dB re 1 mPa-m) and 

generally very short pulses and 

potential duration of exposure. These 

characteristics mean that instantaneous 

exposure is unlikely to cause TTS, as it 

is unlikely that exposure would occur 

close enough to the vessel for received 

levels to exceed peak pressure TTS 

criteria, and that the cumulative 

duration of exposure would be 

insufficient to exceed cumulative sound 

exposure level (SEL) criteria. Even for 

high-frequency cetacean species (e.g., 

harbor porpoises), which have the 

greatest sensitivity to potential TTS, 

individuals would have to make a very 

close approach and also remain very 

close to vessels operating these sources 

in order to receive multiple exposures at 

relatively high levels, as would be 

necessary to cause TTS. Intermittent 

exposures—as would occur due to the 

brief, transient signals produced by 

these sources—require a higher 

cumulative SEL to induce TTS than 

would continuous exposures of the 

same duration (i.e., intermittent 

exposure results in lower levels of TTS). 

Moreover, most marine mammals would 

more likely avoid a loud sound source 

rather than swim in such close 

proximity as to result in TTS. Kremser 

et al. (2005) noted that the probability 

of a cetacean swimming through the 

area of exposure when a sub-bottom 

profiler emits a pulse is small—because 

if the animal was in the area, it would 

have to pass the transducer at close 

range in order to be subjected to sound 

levels that could cause TTS and would 

likely exhibit avoidance behavior to the 

area near the transducer rather than 

swim through at such a close range. 

Further, the restricted beam shape of 

many of HRG survey devices planned 

for use (Table 1) makes it unlikely that 

an animal would be exposed more than 

briefly during the passage of the vessel. 

Behavioral disturbance may include a 

variety of effects, including subtle 

changes in behavior (e.g., minor or brief 

avoidance of an area or changes in 

vocalizations), more conspicuous 

changes in similar behavioral activities, 

and more sustained and/or potentially 

severe reactions, such as displacement 

from or abandonment of high-quality 

habitat. Behavioral responses to sound 

are highly variable and context-specific 

and any reactions depend on numerous 

intrinsic and extrinsic factors (e.g., 

species, state of maturity, experience, 

current activity, reproductive state, 

auditory sensitivity, time of day), as 

well as the interplay between factors. 

Available studies show wide variation 

in response to underwater sound; 

therefore, it is difficult to predict 

specifically how any given sound in a 

particular instance might affect marine 

mammals perceiving the signal. 

In addition, sound can disrupt 

behavior through masking, or interfering 

with, an animal’s ability to detect, 

recognize, or discriminate between 

acoustic signals of interest (e.g., those 

used for intraspecific communication 

and social interactions, prey detection, 

predator avoidance, navigation). 

Masking occurs when the receipt of a 

sound is interfered with by another 

coincident sound at similar frequencies 

and at similar or higher intensity, and 

may occur whether the sound is natural 

(e.g., snapping shrimp, wind, waves, 

precipitation) or anthropogenic (e.g., 

shipping, sonar, seismic exploration) in 

origin. Marine mammal 

communications would not likely be 

masked appreciably by the acoustic 

signals given the directionality of the 

signals for most HRG survey equipment 

types proposed for use (Table 1) and the 

brief period when an individual 

mammal is likely to be exposed. 

Sound may affect marine mammals 

through impacts on the abundance, 

behavior, or distribution of prey species 

(e.g., crustaceans, cephalopods, fish, 

zooplankton) (i.e., effects to marine 

mammal habitat). Prey species exposed 

to sound might move away from the 

sound source, experience TTS, 

experience masking of biologically 

relevant sounds, or show no obvious 

direct effects. The most likely impacts 

(if any) for most prey species in a given 

area would be temporary avoidance of 

the area. Surveys using active acoustic 

sound sources move through an area 

relatively quickly, limiting exposure to 

multiple pulses. In all cases, sound 

levels would return to ambient once a 

survey ends and the noise source is shut 

down and, when exposure to sound 

ends, behavioral and/or physiological 

responses are expected to end relatively 

quickly. Finally, the HRG survey 

equipment will not have significant 

impacts to the seafloor and does not 

represent a source of pollution. 

Vessel Strike 

Vessel collisions with marine 

mammals, or ship strikes, can result in 

death or serious injury of the animal. 

These interactions are typically 

associated with large whales, which are 

less maneuverable than are smaller 

cetaceans or pinnipeds in relation to 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
32132 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 

large vessels. Ship strikes generally 

involve commercial shipping vessels, 

which are generally larger and of which 

there is much more traffic in the ocean 

than geophysical survey vessels. Jensen 

and Silber (2004) summarized ship 

strikes of large whales worldwide from 

1975–2003 and found that most 

collisions occurred in the open ocean 

and involved large vessels (e.g., 

commercial shipping). For vessels used 

in geophysical survey activities, vessel 

speed while towing gear is typically 

only 4 knots (4.6 mph). At these speeds, 

both the possibility of striking a marine 

mammal and the possibility of a strike 

resulting in serious injury or mortality 

are so low as to be discountable. At 

average transit speed for geophysical 

survey vessels, the probability of serious 

injury or mortality resulting from a 

strike is less than 50 percent. However, 

the likelihood of a strike actually 

happening is again low given the 

smaller size of these vessels and 

generally slower speeds. Notably in the 

Jensen and Silber study, no strike 

incidents were reported for geophysical 

survey vessels during that time period. 

The potential effects of PCW’s 

specified survey activity are expected to 

be limited to Level B behavioral 

harassment. No permanent or temporary 

auditory effects, or significant impacts 

to marine mammal habitat, including 

prey, are expected. 

Estimated Take 

This section provides an estimate of 

the number of incidental takes proposed 

for authorization through this IHA, 

which will inform both NMFS’ 

consideration of ‘‘small numbers’’ and 

the negligible impact determination. 

Harassment is the only type of take 

expected to result from these activities. 

Except with respect to certain activities 

not pertinent here, section 3(18) of 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). 

Authorized takes would be by Level B 

harassment only, in the form of 

disruption of behavioral patterns for 

individual marine mammals resulting 

from exposure to noise from certain 

HRG acoustic sources. Based primarily 

on the characteristics of the signals 

produced by the acoustic sources 

planned for use, Level A harassment is 

neither anticipated (even absent 

mitigation), nor proposed to be 

authorized. Consideration of the 

anticipated effectiveness of the 

mitigation measures (i.e., pre-start 

clearance and shutdown measures), 

discussed in detail below in the 

Proposed Mitigation section, further 

strengthens the conclusion that Level A 

harassment is not a reasonably 

anticipated outcome of the survey 

activity. As described previously, no 

serious injury or mortality is anticipated 

or proposed to be authorized for this 

activity. Below we describe how the 

take is estimated. 

Generally speaking, we estimate take 

by considering: (1) Acoustic thresholds 

above which NMFS believes the best 

available science indicates marine 

mammals will be behaviorally harassed 

or incur some degree of permanent 

hearing impairment; (2) the area or 

volume of water that will be ensonified 

above these levels in a day; (3) the 

density or occurrence of marine 

mammals within these ensonified areas; 

and, (4) and the number of days of 

activities. We note that while these 

basic factors can contribute to a basic 

calculation to provide an initial 

prediction of takes, additional 

information that can qualitatively 

inform take estimates is also sometimes 

available (e.g., previous monitoring 

results or average group size). Below, we 

describe the factors considered here in 

more detail and present the proposed 

take estimates. 

Acoustic Thresholds 

NMFS uses acoustic thresholds that 

identify the received level of 

underwater sound above which exposed 

marine mammals would be reasonably 

expected to be behaviorally harassed 

(equated to Level B harassment) or to 

incur PTS of some degree (equated to 

Level A harassment). 

Level B Harassment—Though 

significantly driven by received level, 

the onset of behavioral disturbance from 

anthropogenic noise exposure is also 

informed to varying degrees by other 

factors related to the source (e.g., 

frequency, predictability, duty cycle), 

the environment (e.g., bathymetry), and 

the receiving animals (hearing, 

motivation, experience, demography, 

behavioral context) and can be difficult 

to predict (Southall et al., 2007; Ellison 

et al., 2012). Based on what the 

available science indicates and the 

practical need to use a threshold based 

on a factor that is both predictable and 

measurable for most activities, NMFS 

uses a generalized acoustic threshold 

based on received level to estimate the 

onset of behavioral harassment. NMFS 

predicts that marine mammals may be 

behaviorally harassed (i.e., Level B 

harassment) when exposed to 

underwater anthropogenic noise above 

received levels of 160 dB re 1 mPa (rms) 

for the impulsive sources (i.e., boomers, 

sparkers) and non-impulsive, 

intermittent sources (e.g., CHIRP SBPs) 

evaluated here for PCW’s proposed 

activity. 

Level A Harassment—NMFS’ 

Technical Guidance for Assessing the 

Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on 

Marine Mammal Hearing (Version 2.0) 

(Technical Guidance, 2018) identifies 

dual criteria to assess auditory injury 

(Level A harassment) to five different 

marine mammal groups (based on 

hearing sensitivity) as a result of 

exposure to noise from two different 

types of sources (impulsive or nonimpulsive). For more information, see 

NMFS’ 2018 Technical Guidance, which 

may be accessed at 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/marinemammal-acoustic-technical-guidance. 

PCW’s proposed activity includes the 

use of impulsive (i.e., sparkers and 

boomers) and non-impulsive (e.g., 

CHIRP SBP) sources. However, as 

discussed above, NMFS has concluded 

that Level A harassment is not a 

reasonably likely outcome for marine 

mammals exposed to noise through use 

of the sources proposed for use here, 

and the potential for Level A 

harassment is not evaluated further in 

this document. Please see PCW’s 

application for details of a quantitative 

exposure analysis exercise, i.e., 

calculated Level A harassment isopleths 

and estimated Level A harassment 

exposures. Maximum estimated Level A 

harassment isopleths were less than 4 m 

for all sources and hearing groups with 

the exception of an estimated 53 m zone 

calculated for high-frequency cetaceans 

during use of the Boomer, respectively. 

PCW did not request authorization of 

take by Level A harassment, and no take 

by Level A harassment is proposed for 

authorization by NMFS. 

Ensonified Area 

NMFS has developed a user-friendly 

methodology for estimating the extent of 

the Level B harassment isopleths 

associated with relevant HRG survey 

equipment (NMFS, 2020). This 

methodology incorporates frequency 

and directionality to refine estimated 

ensonified zones. For acoustic sources 

that operate with different beamwidths, 

the maximum beamwidth was used, and 

the lowest frequency of the source was 

used when calculating the frequencydependent absorption coefficient (Table 

1). 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 32133 

NMFS considers the data provided by 

Crocker and Fratantonio (2016) to 

represent the best available information 

on source levels associated with HRG 

equipment and, therefore, recommends 

that source levels provided by Crocker 

and Fratantonio (2016) be incorporated 

in the method described above to 

estimate isopleth distances to 

harassment thresholds. In cases when 

the source level for a specific type of 

HRG equipment is not provided in 

Crocker and Fratantonio (2016), NMFS 

recommends that either the source 

levels provided by the manufacturer be 

used, or, in instances where source 

levels provided by the manufacturer are 

unavailable or unreliable, a proxy from 

Crocker and Fratantonio (2016) be used 

instead. Table 1 shows the HRG 

equipment types that may be used 

during the proposed surveys and the 

source parameters associated with those 

HRG equipment types. 

Results of modeling using the 

methodology described above indicated 

that, of the HRG survey equipment 

planned for use by PCW that has the 

potential to result in Level B harassment 

of marine mammals, the Applied 

Acoustics AA251 Boomer would 

produce the largest Level B harassment 

isopleth (178 m). Estimated Level B 

harassment isopleths for all sources 

evaluated here are provided in Table 4. 

Although PCW does not expect to use 

the AA251 Boomer source on all 

planned survey days, it proposes to 

assume, for purposes of analysis, that 

the boomer sources would be used on 

all survey days and across all hours 

within a given survey day. This is a 

conservative approach, as the actual 

sources used on individual survey days, 

or during a portion of a survey day, may 

produce smaller distances to the Level 

B harassment isopleth. 

TABLE 4—DISTANCES TO LEVEL B HARASSMENT THRESHOLD

[160 dB rms] 

Equipment System Frequency 

(kHz) 

Beam width 

(°) 

Source level 

(dB re 1 μPa 

m) 

Level B 

harassment 

horizontal 

impact 

distance 

(m) 

Shallow subbottom profiler ............... EdgeTech Chirp 216 ........................ 2–16 65 178 4 

Deep seismic profiler ........................ Applied Acoustics AA251 Boomer ... 0.2–15 180 205 178 

GeoMarine Geo Spark 2000 (400 

tip).

0.05–3 180 203 141 

Marine Mammal Occurrence 

In this section, NMFS provides 

information about the presence, density, 

or group dynamics of marine mammals 

that informs the take calculations. 

Habitat-based density models 

produced by the Duke University 

Marine Geospatial Ecology Laboratory 

(Roberts et al., 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021) 

represent the best available information 

regarding marine mammal densities in 

the survey area. The density data 

presented by Roberts et al. (2016, 2017, 

2018, 2021) incorporates aerial and 

shipboard line-transect survey data from 

NMFS and other organizations and 

incorporates data from 8 physiographic 

and 16 dynamic oceanographic and 

biological covariates, and controls for 

the influence of sea state, group size, 

availability bias, and perception bias on 

the probability of making a sighting. 

These density models were originally 

developed for all cetacean taxa in the 

U.S. Atlantic (Roberts et al., 2016). In 

subsequent years, certain models have 

been updated based on additional data 

as well as certain methodological 

improvements. More information is 

available online at seamap.env.duke. 

edu/models/Duke-EC/. 

Marine mammal density estimates in 

the survey area (animals/km2) were 

obtained using the most recent model 

results for all taxa (Roberts et al., 2016, 

2017, 2018, 2021). The updated models 

incorporate additional sighting data, 

including sightings from NOAA’s 

Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for 

Protected Species (AMAPPS) surveys. 

Those data provide abundance estimates 

for species or species guilds within 10 

km x 10 km grid cells (100 km2), or in 

the case of NARW densities within 5 km 

x 5 km grid cells, on a monthly or 

annual basis, depending on the species. 

Using geographic information system 

(GIS) (ESRI 2017), the proposed survey 

area and the NARW SMA polygons were 

used to select grid cells from the Roberts 

et al. (2016; 2017; 2018; 2021) data that 

contain the most recent monthly or 

annual estimates for each species for the 

months of May through December. For 

the months of January through April, 

only the proposed survey area polygon 

was used to select density grid cells 

since it excludes waters within Cape 

Cod Bay where no surveys will occur 

from January 1 through May 15. The 

average monthly abundance for each 

species was calculated as the mean 

value of all grid cells within the survey 

area and then converted to density 

(individuals/km2) by dividing by 100 

km2. Finally, an average annual density 

was calculated by taking the mean 

across all 12 months for each species 

(see Table 8 of the application). 

The estimated monthly density of 

seals provided in Roberts et al. (2018) 

includes all seal species present in the 

region as a single guild. To split the 

resulting ‘‘seal’’ density-based exposure 

estimate by species, the estimate was 

multiplied by the proportion of the 

combined abundance attributable to 

each species. Specifically, the SAR 

abundance estimates (Hayes et al. 2021) 

were summed for the two species (gray 

seal = 27,300, harbor seal = 61,336; total 

= 88,636) and the total divided by the 

estimate for each species to get the 

proportion of the total for each species 

(gray seal = 0.308; harbor seal = 0.692). 

The total estimated exposure from the 

‘‘seal’’ density provide by Roberts et al. 

(2018) was then multiplied by these 

proportions to get the species specific 

exposure estimates. 

Densities from each of the selected 

density blocks were averaged for each 

month available to provide monthly 

density estimates for each species (when 

available based on the temporal 

resolution of the model products), along 

with the average annual density. Please 

see Tables 8 and 9 of PCW’s application 

for density values used in the exposure 

estimation process. Additional data 

regarding average group sizes from 

survey effort in the region was 

considered to ensure adequate take 

estimates are evaluated (see Table 10 of 

the application). 

Take Calculation and Estimation 

Here NMFS describes how the 

information provided above is brought 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
32134 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 

together to produce a quantitative take 

estimate. In order to estimate the 

number of marine mammals predicted 

to be exposed to sound levels that 

would result in harassment, radial 

distances to predicted isopleths 

corresponding to Level B harassment 

thresholds are calculated, as described 

above. The maximum distance (i.e., 178 

m distance associated with the boomer) 

to the Level B harassment criterion and 

the estimated trackline distance traveled 

per day by a given survey vessel (i.e., 80 

km) was used to calculate the daily 

ensonified area, or zone of influence 

(ZOI) around the survey vessel. This 

distance was multiplied by two times 

the average daily survey distance (80 

km) and the area of a circle with radius 

178 m was added to the result to 

calculate the daily ZOI (28.6 km2). The 

daily ZOI was then multiplied by the 

total number of expected survey days 

(636) to estimate the total ZOI for the 

proposed surveys (18,177 km2). 

Potential Level B harassment 

exposures are estimated by multiplying 

the average annual density of each 

species within either the Lease Area or 

potential ECR area by the total ZOI for 

the planned surveys. Those results are 

shown in Table 5. 

The larger of the two estimates from 

the approaches described above: 

Density-based exposure estimates or 

mean group size was then selected as 

the requested take as shown in Table 5. 

In cases where the calculations resulted 

in a non-integer, the result was rounded 

up to the nearest whole number since it 

is not logical to request a partial take. 

Additionally, based on observational 

data collected during prior HRG surveys 

in this area, the density of common 

dolphins predicted by the Roberts et al. 

(2018) model does not appear to 

adequately reflect the number of 

dolphins that may be encountered 

during the planned surveys. Data 

collected by Protected Species 

Observers (PSOs) on survey vessels 

operating in 2020–2021 showed an 

average of approximately 16 common 

dolphins may be observed within 200 m 

of a vessel (the approximate Level B 

harassment distance) per survey day. 

Multiplying the anticipated 636 survey 

days by 16 common dolphins per day 

results in a potential estimated take of 

10,176 common dolphins so this has 

been used as the requested take of 

common dolphins shown in Table 5. 

For the ‘‘seal’’ guild in the Roberts et 

al. (2018) densities, the exposure 

estimate was split by species using the 

relative abundance for the two species 

to produce the species-specific 

requested take. 

For Bottlenose dolphins, the offshore 

morphotype inhabits the outer 

continental slope and shelf edge regions 

from Georges Bank to the Florida Keys, 

while the coastal morphotype is 

continuously distributed along the 

Atlantic Coast from south of New York 

to the Florida Peninsula (Hayes et al. 

2020)). Offshore common bottlenose 

dolphin sightings occur from Cape 

Hatteras to the eastern end of Georges 

Bank (Kenney 1990). The western North 

Atlantic offshore stock is distributed 

primarily along the OCS and continental 

slope, from Georges Bank to Cape 

Hatteras during spring and summer 

(CeTAP 1982). Bottlenose dolphins 

encountered in the survey area would 

likely belong to the Western North 

Atlantic Offshore stock, so all takes are 

being requested from this stock. 

However, it is possible that a few 

animals encountered during the surveys 

could be from the North Atlantic 

Northern Migratory Coastal stock, but 

chance of occurrence is low, and no take 

from this species is proposed. Similarly, 

based on the distributions described in 

Hayes et al. (2020, 2021b), pilot whale 

sightings in the Lease Area would most 

likely be long-finned pilot whales, so all 

pilot whale takes being requested are for 

long-finned pilot whales. 

For NARWs, the implementation of a 

500 m acoustic shutdown zone and the 

500 m vessel separation distance 

identified in the vessel strike avoidance 

measures means that the likelihood of 

an exposure to received sound levels 

greater than 160 dB SPLrms is very low. 

As a precautionary measure, takes by 

Level B harassment are requested for the 

proposed survey. 

TABLE 5—PROPOSED TAKES BY LEVEL B HARASSMENT AND PERCENTAGES OF EACH SPECIES OR STOCK ABUNDANCE

Taxonomic group Common name Stock 

(NEST) a

Density 

based 

exposures 

Mean 

group size 

Proposed 

take by 

level B 

harassment 

Percent of stock 

Cetacean (Mysticete) ..... North Atlantic right 

whale.

Western Atlantic Stock 

(368).

29 2.4 30 8.2. 

Blue whale ..................... Western North Atlantic 

Stock (402).

0 1.0 1 Less than 1 percent. 

Fin whale ....................... Western North Atlantic 

Stock (6,802).

59 1.8 60 Less than 1 percent. 

Sei whale ....................... Nova Scotia Stock 

(6,292).

5 1.6 5 Less than 1 percent. 

Minke whale .................. Canadian East Coastal 

Stock (21,968).

37 1.2 37 Less than 1 percent. 

Humpback whale ........... West Indies DPS (1,396) 45 2.0 46 3.3. 

Cetacean (Odontocete) Sperm whale ................. North Atlantic Stock 

(4,349).

2 1.5 5 Less than 1 percent. 

Atlantic white-sided dolphin.Western North Atlantic 

Stock (93,233).

1,014 27.9 1,014 Less than 2 percent. 

Atlantic spotted dolphin Western North Atlantic 

Stock (39,921).

4 29.0 29 Less than 1 percent. 

Common bottlenose dolphin.Western North Atlantic 

Offshore Stock 

(62,851).

398 7.8 399 Less than 1 percent. 

Long-finned pilot whale Western North Atlantic 

Stock (68,139).

86 8.4 86 Less than 1 percent. 

Risso’s dolphin .............. Western North Atlantic 

Stock (35,215).

4 5.4 30 Less than 1 percent. 

Common dolphin (shortbeaked).Western North Atlantic 

Stock (172,974).

1,081 34.9 10,176 5.9. 

Harbor porpoise ............. Western North Atlantic 

Stock (95,543).

759 2.7 759 Less than 1 percent. 

Pinniped (Phocid) .......... Gray seal ....................... Western North Atlantic 

Stock (27,300).

399 0.4 400 Less than 2 percent. 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 32135 

TABLE 5—PROPOSED TAKES BY LEVEL B HARASSMENT AND PERCENTAGES OF EACH SPECIES OR STOCK ABUNDANCE— 

Continued 

Taxonomic group Common name Stock 

(NEST) a

Density 

based 

exposures 

Mean 

group size 

Proposed 

take by 

level B 

harassment 

Percent of stock 

Harbor seal .................... Western North Atlantic 

Stock (61,336).

897 1.0 897 Less than 2 percent 

aSource—(Hayes et al. 2021). 

Rare Species 

Species considered to be rare or not 

expected to occur in the area were not 

included in the previous exposure 

estimates because the densities would 

be too low to provide meaningful 

density-based exposures. Nonetheless, 

species considered to be rare are 

occasionally encountered. For example, 

white-beaked dolphins were recorded in 

both 2019 and 2020 during HRG surveys 

in this area (Vineyard-Wind 2019, 2020) 

with the sighting of White-beaked 

dolphins in 2019 consisting of 30 

animals. Other rare species encountered 

in the survey area during previous HRG 

surveys include false killer whale in 

2019 (five individuals) and 2021 (one 

individual) (Vineyard-Wind 2019, 2021) 

and orca (killer whale) in 2022 (two 

individuals; data not yet submitted). 

When species not listed in an IHA are 

encountered and may be taken, it is 

necessary to cease survey operations to 

avoid unauthorized take. To avoid this 

potential disruption to survey 

operations, PCW is requesting and 

NMFS is proposing take by Level B 

harassment for these three rare species 

based on the largest number of 

individuals observed within one year: 

30 white-beaked dolphins, 5 false killer 

whales, and 2 killer whales. 

The take numbers shown in Table 5 

are those requested by PCW. NMFS 

concurs with the requested take 

numbers and proposes to authorize 

them. Previous monitoring data 

compiled by PCW (available online at: 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

incidental-take-authorization-oceanwind-marine-site-characterizationsurveys-offshore-new) suggests that the 

proposed take numbers for 

authorization are sufficient. 

Proposed Mitigation 

In order to issue an IHA under section 

101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA, NMFS must 

set forth the permissible methods of 

taking pursuant to the activity, and 

other means of effecting the least 

practicable impact on the species or 

stock and its habitat, paying particular 

attention to rookeries, mating grounds, 

and areas of similar significance, and on 

the availability of the species or stock 

for taking for certain subsistence uses 

(latter not applicable for this action). 

NMFS regulations require applicants for 

incidental take authorizations to include 

information about the availability and 

feasibility (economic and technological) 

of equipment, methods, and manner of 

conducting the activity or other means 

of effecting the least practicable adverse 

impact upon the affected species or 

stocks and their habitat (50 CFR 

216.104(a)(11)). 

In evaluating how mitigation may or 

may not be appropriate to ensure the 

least practicable adverse impact on 

species or stocks and their habitat, as 

well as subsistence uses where 

applicable, we carefully consider two 

primary factors: 

(1) The manner in which, and the 

degree to which, the successful 

implementation of the measure(s) is 

expected to reduce impacts to marine 

mammals, marine mammal species or 

stocks, and their habitat. This considers 

the nature of the potential adverse 

impact being mitigated (likelihood, 

scope, range). It further considers the 

likelihood that the measure will be 

effective if implemented (probability of 

accomplishing the mitigating result if 

implemented as planned), the 

likelihood of effective implementation 

(probability implemented as planned); 

and 

(2) The practicability of the measures 

for applicant implementation, which 

may consider such things as cost and 

impact on operations. 

Mitigation for Marine Mammals and 

Their Habitat 

NMFS proposes the following 

mitigation measures be implemented 

during PCW’s proposed marine site 

characterization surveys. Pursuant to 

section 7 of the ESA, PCW would also 

be required to adhere to relevant Project 

Design Criteria (PDC) of the NMFS’ 

Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries 

Office (GARFO) programmatic 

consultation (specifically PDCs 4, 5, and 

7) regarding geophysical surveys along 

the U.S. Atlantic coast (https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-englandmid-atlantic/consultations/section-7- 

take-reporting-programmatics-greateratlantic#offshore-wind-site-assessmentand-site-characterization-activitiesprogrammatic-consultation). 

Marine Mammal Shutdown Zones and 

Level B Harassment Zone 

Marine mammal shutdown zones 

(SZs) would be established around the 

HRG survey equipment and monitored 

by PSOs: 

• 500-m SZ for North Atlantic right 

whales 

• 100-m SZ for all other marine 

mammals 

If a marine mammal is detected 

approaching or entering the SZs during 

the HRG survey, the vessel operator 

would adhere to the shutdown 

procedures described below to 

minimize noise impacts on the animals. 

These stated requirements will be 

included in the site-specific training 

provided to the survey team. 

Pre-Start Clearance 

Marine mammal clearance zones 

(CZs) would be established around the 

HRG survey equipment and monitored 

by PSOs: 

• 500-m CZ for all ESA-listed marine 

mammals; and 

• 100-m CZ for all other marine 

mammals 

Vineyard Northeast would implement 

a 30-minute pre-start clearance period 

prior to initiation of ramp-up of 

specified HRG equipment. During this 

period, CZs would be monitored by 

PSOs, using the appropriate visual 

technology. Ramp-up may not be 

initiated if any marine mammal(s) is 

within its respective CZ. If a marine 

mammal is observed within its CZ 

during the pre-start clearance period, 

ramp-up may not begin until the 

animal(s) has been observed exiting its 

respective CZ or until an additional 

time has elapsed with no further 

sighting (i.e., 15 minutes for small 

odontocetes and seals, and 30 minutes 

for all other species). 

Ramp-Up of Survey Equipment 

When technically feasible, a ramp-up 

procedure would be used for HRG 

survey equipment capable of adjustment 

of energy levels at the start or restart of 

survey activities. The ramp-up 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
32136 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 

procedure would be used at the 

beginning of HRG survey activities to 

provide additional protection to marine 

mammals in or near the Survey Area by 

allowing them to vacate the area prior 

to the commencement of survey 

equipment operation at full power. A 

ramp-up would begin with the powering 

up of the smallest acoustic HRG 

equipment at its lowest practical power 

output appropriate for the survey. When 

technically feasible, the power would 

then be gradually turned up and other 

acoustic sources would be added. 

Ramp-up activities will be delayed if 

a marine mammal(s) enters its 

respective CZ. Ramp-up will continue if 

the animal has been observed exiting its 

respective CZ or until an additional 

period has elapsed with no additional 

sightings (i.e., 15 minutes for small 

odontocetes and seals, and 30 minutes 

for all other species). 

Activation of survey equipment 

through ramp-up procedures may not 

occur when visual observation of the 

pre-start clearance/shutdown zone is 

not expected to be effective using the 

appropriate visual technology (i.e., 

during inclement conditions such as 

heavy rain or fog). 

Shutdown Procedures 

An immediate shutdown of the 

specified HRG survey equipment would 

be required if a marine mammal is 

sighted entering or within its respective 

SZ. The vessel operator must comply 

immediately with any call for shutdown 

by the PSO. Any disagreement between 

the PSO and vessel operator should be 

discussed only after shutdown has 

occurred. Subsequent restart of the 

survey equipment can be initiated if the 

animal has been observed exiting its 

respective SZ or until an additional time 

has elapsed (i.e., 15 minutes for harbor 

porpoise, 30 minutes for all other 

species). 

If a species for which authorization 

has not been granted, or a species for 

which authorization has been granted 

but the authorized number of takes have 

been met, approaches or is observed 

within the applicable Level B 

harassment zone (Table 4), shutdown 

would occur. 

If the acoustic source is shut down for 

reasons other than mitigation (e.g., 

mechanical difficulty) for less than 30 

minutes, it may be activated again 

without ramp-up if PSOs have 

maintained constant observation and no 

detections of any marine mammal have 

occurred within the respective SZs. If 

the acoustic source is shut down for a 

period longer than 30 minutes, then prestart clearance and ramp-up procedures 

will be initiated as described in the 

previous section. 

The shutdown requirement would be 

waived for pinnipeds and for small 

delphinids of the following genera: 

Delphinus, Lagenorhynchus, Stenella, 

and Tursiops. Specifically, if a 

delphinid from the specified genera or 

a pinniped is visually detected 

approaching the vessel (i.e., to bow ride) 

or towed equipment, shutdown is not 

required. Furthermore, if there is 

uncertainty regarding identification of a 

marine mammal species (i.e., whether 

the observed marine mammal(s) belongs 

to one of the delphinid genera for which 

shutdown is waived), PSOs must use 

best professional judgement in making 

the decision to call for a shutdown. 

Additionally, shutdown is required if a 

delphinid or pinniped detected in the 

shutdown zone and belongs to a genus 

other than those specified. 

Shutdown, pre-start clearance, and 

ramp-up procedures would not be 

required during HRG survey operations 

using only non-impulsive sources (e.g., 

echosounders), other than nonparametric sub-bottom profilers (e.g., 

CHIRP SBPs). 

Vessel Strike Avoidance 

Vineyard Northeast must ensure that 

vessel operators and crew maintain a 

vigilant watch for cetaceans and 

pinnipeds and slow down or stop their 

vessels to avoid striking these species. 

Survey vessel crew members 

responsible for navigation duties will 

receive site-specific training on marine 

mammals sighting/reporting and vessel 

strike avoidance measures. Vessel strike 

avoidance measures include the 

following, except under circumstances 

when complying with these 

requirements would put the safety of the 

vessel or crew at risk: 

• Vessel operators and crews must 

maintain a vigilant watch for all 

protected species and slow down, stop 

their vessel(s), or alter course, as 

appropriate and regardless of vessel 

size, to avoid striking any protected 

species. A visual observer aboard the 

vessel must monitor a vessel strike 

avoidance zone based on the 

appropriate separation distance around 

the vessel (distances stated below). 

Visual observers monitoring the vessel 

strike avoidance zone may be thirdparty observers (i.e., PSOs) or crew 

members, but crew members 

responsible for these duties must be 

provided sufficient training to (1) 

distinguish protected species from other 

phenomena and (2) broadly to identify 

a marine mammal as a North Atlantic 

right whale, other whale (defined in this 

context as sperm whales or baleen 

whales other than North Atlantic right 

whales), or other marine mammal. 

• Members of the monitoring team 

will consult NMFS North Atlantic right 

whale reporting system and Whale Alert 

at the start of every PSO shift, for 

situational awareness regarding the 

presence of North Atlantic right whales 

throughout the Survey Area, and for the 

establishment of Slow Zones (including 

visual-detection-triggered dynamic 

management areas (DMAs) and 

acoustically-triggered slow zones) 

within or near the Survey Area. 

• All survey vessels, regardless of 

size, must observe a 10-knot speed 

restriction in specific areas designated 

by NMFS for the protection of North 

Atlantic right whales from vessel 

strikes, including SMAs and DMAs 

when in effect; 

• All vessels greater than or equal to 

19.8 m in overall length operating from 

November 1 through April 30 will 

operate at speeds of 10 knots or less at 

all times; 

• All vessels must reduce their speed 

to 10 knots or less when mother/calf 

pairs, pods, or large assemblages of 

cetaceans are observed near a vessel; 

• All vessels must maintain a 

minimum separation distance of 500 m 

from North Atlantic right whales and 

other ESA-listed species. If an ESAlisted species is sighted within the 

relevant separation distance, the vessel 

must steer a course away at 10 knots or 

less until the 500-m separation distance 

has been established. If a whale is 

observed but cannot be confirmed as a 

species that is not ESA-listed, the vessel 

operator must assume that it is an ESAlisted species and take appropriate 

action. 

• All vessels must, to the maximum 

extent practicable, attempt to maintain a 

minimum separation distance of 100 m 

from all non-ESA listed whales, 

• All vessels must, to the maximum 

extent practicable, attempt to maintain a 

minimum separation distance of 50 m 

from all other marine mammals, with an 

understanding that at times this may not 

be possible (e.g., for animals that 

approach the vessel). 

• When marine mammals are sighted 

while a vessel is underway, the vessel 

must take action as necessary to avoid 

violating the relevant separation 

distance (e.g., attempt to remain parallel 

to the animal’s course, avoid excessive 

speed or abrupt changes in direction 

until the animal has left the area). If 

marine mammals are sighted within the 

relevant separation distance, the vessel 

must reduce speed and shift the engine 

to neutral, not engaging the engines 

until animals are clear of the area. This 

does not apply to any vessel towing gear 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 32137 

or any vessel that is navigationally 

constrained. 

Seasonal Restrictions 

Vineyard Northeast proposes to 

refrain from conducting survey 

activities using HRG equipment 

operating at or below 180 kHz from 

January 1 through May 15 within the 

North Atlantic right whale SMA in Cape 

Cod Bay. 

Crew Training 

Project-specific training will be 

conducted for all vessel crew prior to 

the start of a survey and during any 

changes in crew such that all survey 

personnel are fully aware and 

understand the mitigation, monitoring, 

and reporting requirements. Prior to 

implementation with vessel crews, the 

training program will be provided to 

NMFS for review and approval. 

Confirmation of the training and 

understanding of the requirements will 

be documented on a training course log 

sheet. Signing the log sheet will certify 

that the crew member understands and 

will comply with the necessary 

requirements throughout the survey 

activities. 

Based on our evaluation of the 

applicant’s proposed measures, as well 

as other measures considered by NMFS, 

NMFS has preliminarily determined 

that the proposed mitigation measures 

provide the means of effecting the least 

practicable impact on marine mammal 

species or stocks and their habitat, 

paying particular attention to rookeries, 

mating grounds, and areas of similar 

significance. 

Proposed Monitoring and Reporting 

In order to issue an IHA for an 

activity, section 101(a)(5)(D) of the 

MMPA states that NMFS must set forth 

requirements pertaining to the 

monitoring and reporting of such taking. 

The MMPA implementing regulations at 

50 CFR 216.104 (a)(13) indicate that 

requests for authorizations must include 

the suggested means of accomplishing 

the necessary monitoring and reporting 

that will result in increased knowledge 

of the species and of the level of taking 

or impacts on populations of marine 

mammals that are expected to be 

present in the proposed action area. 

Effective reporting is critical both to 

compliance as well as ensuring that the 

most value is obtained from the required 

monitoring. 

Monitoring and reporting 

requirements prescribed by NMFS 

should contribute to improved 

understanding of one or more of the 

following: 

• Occurrence of marine mammal 

species or stocks in the area in which 

take is anticipated (e.g., presence, 

abundance, distribution, density); 

• Nature, scope, or context of likely 

marine mammal exposure to potential 

stressors/impacts (individual or 

cumulative, acute or chronic), through 

better understanding of: (1) Action or 

environment (e.g., source 

characterization, propagation, ambient 

noise); (2) affected species (e.g., life 

history, dive patterns); (3) co-occurrence 

of marine mammal species with the 

action; or (4) biological or behavioral 

context of exposure (e.g., age, calving or 

feeding areas); 

• Individual marine mammal 

responses (behavioral or physiological) 

to acoustic stressors (acute, chronic, or 

cumulative), other stressors, or 

cumulative impacts from multiple 

stressors; 

• How anticipated responses to 

stressors impact either: (1) Long-term 

fitness and survival of individual 

marine mammals; or (2) populations, 

species, or stocks; 

• Effects on marine mammal habitat 

(e.g., marine mammal prey species, 

acoustic habitat, or other important 

physical components of marine 

mammal habitat); and 

• Mitigation and monitoring 

effectiveness. 

Proposed Monitoring Measures 

Visual monitoring will be performed 

by qualified, NMFS-approved PSOs, the 

resumes of whom will be provided to 

NMFS for review and approval prior to 

the start of survey activities. PCW 

would employ independent, dedicated, 

trained PSOs, meaning that the PSOs 

must (1) be employed by a third-party 

observer provider, (2) have no tasks 

other than to conduct observational 

effort, collect data, and communicate 

with and instruct relevant vessel crew 

with regard to the presence of marine 

mammals and mitigation requirements 

(including brief alerts regarding 

maritime hazards), and (3) have 

successfully completed an approved 

PSO training course appropriate for 

their designated task. On a case-by-case 

basis, non-independent observers may 

be approved by NMFS for limited, 

specific duties in support of approved, 

independent PSOs on smaller vessels 

with limited crew capacity operating in 

nearshore waters. Section 5 of the draft 

IHA contains further details regarding 

PSO approval. 

The PSOs will be responsible for 

monitoring the waters surrounding each 

survey vessel to the farthest extent 

permitted by sighting conditions, 

including shutdown zones, during all 

HRG survey operations. PSOs will 

visually monitor and identify marine 

mammals, including those approaching 

or entering the established shutdown 

zones during survey activities. It will be 

the responsibility of the Lead PSO on 

duty to communicate the presence of 

marine mammals as well as to 

communicate the action(s) that are 

necessary to ensure mitigation and 

monitoring requirements are 

implemented as appropriate. 

During all HRG survey operations 

(e.g., any day on which use of an HRG 

source is planned to occur), a minimum 

of one PSO must be on duty during 

daylight operations on each survey 

vessel, conducting visual observations 

at all times on all active survey vessels 

during daylight hours (i.e., from 30 

minutes prior to sunrise through 30 

minutes following sunset). Two PSOs 

will be on watch during nighttime 

operations and during periods of poor 

visibility. The PSO(s) would ensure 

360° visual coverage around the vessel 

from the most appropriate observation 

posts and would conduct visual 

observations using binoculars and/or 

night vision goggles, infared cameras 

and the naked eye while free from 

distractions and in a consistent, 

systematic, and diligent manner. PSOs 

may be on watch for a maximum of 4 

consecutive hours followed by a break 

of at least 2 hours between watches and 

may conduct a maximum of 12 hours of 

observation per 24-hr period. In cases 

where multiple vessels are surveying 

concurrently, any observations of 

marine mammals would be 

communicated to PSOs on all nearby 

survey vessels. 

PSOs must be equipped with 

binoculars and have the ability to 

estimate distance and bearing to detect 

marine mammals, particularly in 

proximity to shutdown zones. 

Reticulated binoculars must also be 

available to PSOs for use as appropriate 

based on conditions and visibility to 

support the sighting and monitoring of 

marine mammals. During nighttime 

operations, night-vision goggles with 

thermal clip-ons and infrared 

technology would be used. Position data 

would be recorded using hand-held or 

vessel GPS units for each sighting. 

During good conditions (e.g., daylight 

hours; Beaufort sea state (BSS) 3 or less), 

to the maximum extent practicable, 

PSOs would also conduct observations 

when the acoustic source is not 

operating for comparison of sighting 

rates and behavior with and without use 

of the active acoustic sources. Any 

observations of marine mammals by 

crew members aboard any vessel 

associated with the survey would be 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
32138 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 

relayed to the PSO team. Data on all 

PSO observations would be recorded 

based on standard PSO collection 

requirements. This would include dates, 

times, and locations of survey 

operations; dates and times of 

observations, location and weather; 

details of marine mammal sightings 

(e.g., species, numbers, behavior); and 

details of any observed marine mammal 

behavior that occurs (e.g., noted 

behavioral disturbances). 

Proposed Reporting Measures 

Within 90 days after completion of 

survey activities or expiration of this 

IHA, whichever comes sooner, a final 

technical report will be provided to 

NMFS that fully documents the 

methods and monitoring protocols, 

summarizes the data recorded during 

monitoring, summarizes the number of 

marine mammals observed during 

survey activities (by species, when 

known), summarizes the mitigation 

actions taken during surveys (including 

what type of mitigation and the species 

and number of animals that prompted 

the mitigation action, when known), 

and provides an interpretation of the 

results and effectiveness of all 

mitigation and monitoring. A final 

report must be submitted within 30 days 

following resolution of any comments 

on the draft report. All draft and final 

marine mammal and acoustic 

monitoring reports must be submitted to 

PR.ITP.MonitoringReports@noaa.gov, 

nmfs.gar.incidental-take@noaa.gov, and 

ITP.Potlock@noaa.gov. The report must 

contain at minimum, the following: 

• PSO names and affiliations; 

• Dates of departures and returns to 

port with port name; 

• Dates and times (Greenwich Mean 

Time) of survey effort and times 

corresponding with PSO effort; 

• Vessel location (latitude/longitude) 

when survey effort begins and ends; 

vessel location at beginning and end of 

visual PSO duty shifts; 

• Vessel heading and speed at 

beginning and end of visual PSO duty 

shifts and upon any line change; 

• Environmental conditions while on 

visual survey (at beginning and end of 

PSO shift and whenever conditions 

change significantly), including wind 

speed and direction, Beaufort sea state, 

Beaufort wind force, swell height, 

weather conditions, cloud cover, sun 

glare, and overall visibility to the 

horizon; 

• Factors that may be contributing to 

impaired observations during each PSO 

shift change or as needed as 

environmental conditions change (e.g., 

vessel traffic, equipment malfunctions); 

and 

• Survey activity information, such as 

type of survey equipment in operation, 

acoustic source power output while in 

operation, and any other notes of 

significance (i.e., pre-start clearance 

survey, ramp-up, shutdown, end of 

operations, etc.). 

If a marine mammal is sighted, the 

following information should be 

recorded: 

• Watch status (sighting made by PSO 

on/off effort, opportunistic, crew, 

alternate vessel/platform); 

• PSO who sighted the animal; 

• Time of sighting; 

• Vessel location at time of sighting; 

• Water depth; 

• Direction of vessel’s travel (compass 

direction); 

• Direction of animal’s travel relative 

to the vessel; 

• Pace of the animal; 

• Estimated distance to the animal 

and its heading relative to vessel at 

initial sighting; 

• Identification of the animal (e.g., 

genus/species, lowest possible 

taxonomic level, or unidentified); also 

note the composition of the group if 

there is a mix of species; 

• Estimated number of animals (high/ 

low/best); 

• Estimated number of animals by 

cohort (adults, yearlings, juveniles, 

calves, group composition, etc.); 

• Description (as many distinguishing 

features as possible of each individual 

seen, including length, shape, color, 

pattern, scars or markings, shape and 

size of dorsal fin, shape of head, and 

blow characteristics); 

• Detailed behavior observations (e.g., 

number of blows, number of surfaces, 

breaching, spyhopping, diving, feeding, 

traveling; as explicit and detailed as 

possible; note any observed changes in 

behavior); 

• Animal’s closest point of approach 

and/or closest distance from the center 

point of the acoustic source; 

• Platform activity at time of sighting 

(e.g., deploying, recovering, testing, data 

acquisition, other); and 

• Description of any actions 

implemented in response to the sighting 

(e.g., delays, shutdown, ramp-up, speed 

or course alteration, etc.) and time and 

location of the action. 

If a NARW is observed at any time by 

PSOs or personnel on any project 

vessels, during surveys or during vessel 

transit, PCW must immediately report 

sighting information to the NMFS 

NARW Sighting Advisory System: (866) 

755–6622. NARW sightings in any 

location may also be reported to the U.S. 

Coast Guard via channel 16. 

In the event that PCW personnel 

discover an injured or dead marine 

mammal, PCW will report the incident 

to the NMFS Office of Protected 

Resources (OPR) and the NMFS New 

England/Mid-Atlantic Stranding 

Coordinator as soon as feasible. The 

report would include the following 

information: 

• Time, date, and location (latitude/ 

longitude) of the first discovery (and 

updated location information if known 

and applicable); 

• Species identification (if known) or 

description of the animal(s) involved; 

• Condition of the animal(s) 

(including carcass condition if the 

animal is dead); 

• Observed behaviors of the 

animal(s), if alive; 

• If available, photographs or video 

footage of the animal(s); and 

• General circumstances under which 

the animal was discovered. 

In the unanticipated event of a ship 

strike of a marine mammal by any vessel 

involved in the activities covered by the 

IHA, PCW would report the incident to 

the NMFS OPR and the NMFS New 

England/Mid-Atlantic Stranding 

Coordinator as soon as feasible. The 

report would include the following 

information: 

• Time, date, and location (latitude/ 

longitude) of the incident; 

• Species identification (if known) or 

description of the animal(s) involved; 

• Vessel’s speed during and leading 

up to the incident; 

• Vessel’s course/heading and what 

operations were being conducted (if 

applicable); 

• Status of all sound sources in use; 

• Description of avoidance measures/ 

requirements that were in place at the 

time of the strike and what additional 

measures were taken, if any, to avoid 

strike; 

• Environmental conditions (e.g., 

wind speed and direction, Beaufort sea 

state, cloud cover, visibility) 

immediately preceding the strike; 

• Estimated size and length of animal 

that was struck; 

• Description of the behavior of the 

marine mammal immediately preceding 

and following the strike; 

• If available, description of the 

presence and behavior of any other 

marine mammals immediately 

preceding the strike; 

• Estimated fate of the animal (e.g., 

dead, injured but alive, injured and 

moving, blood or tissue observed in the 

water, status unknown, disappeared); 

and 

• To the extent practicable, 

photographs or video footage of the 

animal(s). 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 32139 

Negligible Impact Analysis and 

Determination 

NMFS has defined negligible impact 

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 

(50 CFR 216.103). A negligible impact 

finding is based on the lack of likely 

adverse effects on annual rates of 

recruitment or survival (i.e., populationlevel effects). An estimate of the number 

of takes alone is not enough information 

on which to base an impact 

determination. In addition to 

considering estimates of the number of 

marine mammals that might be ‘‘taken’’ 

through harassment, NMFS considers 

other factors, such as the likely nature 

of any responses (e.g., intensity, 

duration), the context of any responses 

(e.g., critical reproductive time or 

location, migration), as well as effects 

on habitat, and the likely effectiveness 

of the mitigation. NMFS also assesses 

the number, intensity, and context of 

estimated takes by evaluating this 

information relative to population 

status. Consistent with the 1989 

preamble for NMFS’s implementing 

regulations (54 FR 40338; September 29, 

1989), the impacts from other past and 

ongoing anthropogenic activities are 

incorporated into this analysis via their 

impacts on the environmental baseline 

(e.g., as reflected in the regulatory status 

of the species, population size and 

growth rate where known, ongoing 

sources of human-caused mortality, or 

ambient noise levels). 

To avoid repetition, our analysis 

applies to all the species listed in Table 

5 given that NMFS expects the 

anticipated effects of the proposed 

survey to be similar in nature. Where 

there are meaningful differences 

between species or stocks—as is the 

case of the NARW—they are included as 

separate subsections below. NMFS does 

not anticipate that serious injury or 

mortality would occur as a result from 

HRG surveys, even in the absence of 

mitigation, and no serious injury or 

mortality is proposed to be authorized. 

As discussed in the Potential Effects of 

Specified Activities on Marine 

Mammals and their Habitat section, 

non-auditory physical effects and vessel 

strike are not expected to occur. NMFS 

expects that all potential takes would be 

in the form of short-term Level B 

behavioral harassment in the form of 

temporary avoidance of the area or 

decreased foraging (if such activity was 

occurring), reactions that are considered 

to be of low severity and with no lasting 

biological consequences (e.g., Southall 

et al., 2007). Even repeated Level B 

harassment of some small subset of an 

overall stock is unlikely to result in any 

significant realized decrease in viability 

for the affected individuals, and thus 

would not result in any adverse impact 

to the stock as a whole. As described 

above, Level A harassment is not 

expected to occur given the nature of 

the operations and the estimated size of 

the Level A harassment zones. 

In addition to being temporary, the 

maximum expected harassment zone 

around a survey vessel is 178 m. 

Although this distance is assumed for 

all survey activity in estimating take 

numbers proposed for authorization and 

evaluated here, other survey activity 

would involve use of acoustic sources 

with a reduced acoustic harassment 

zone producing expected effects of 

particularly low(er) severity. Therefore, 

the ensonified area surrounding each 

vessel is relatively small compared to 

the overall distribution of the animals in 

the area and their use of the habitat. 

Feeding behavior is not likely to be 

significantly impacted as prey species 

are mobile and are broadly distributed 

throughout the survey area; therefore, 

marine mammals that may be 

temporarily displaced during survey 

activities are expected to be able to 

resume foraging once they have moved 

away from areas with disturbing levels 

of underwater noise. Because of the 

temporary nature of the disturbance and 

the availability of similar habitat and 

resources in the surrounding area, the 

impacts to marine mammals and the 

food sources that they utilize are not 

expected to cause significant or longterm consequences for individual 

marine mammals or their populations. 

There are no rookeries, mating or 

calving grounds known to be 

biologically important to marine 

mammals within the proposed survey 

area. However, there are BIAs for large 

whales, which overlap with the survey 

area. As discussed earlier in this 

document, there are two BIAs for 

feeding fin whales that flank the survey 

area, a BIA for feeding humpback 

whales northeast of the survey area, and 

a portion of the minke and sei whale 

feeding BIAs within the survey area. 

Migration and feeding BIAs for NARW 

are present in the survey area, but are 

discussed in the NARW subsection 

below. 

Due to the fact that the proposed 

survey activities are temporary and the 

spatial extent of sound produced by the 

survey would be very small relative to 

the spatial extent of the available 

feeding habitat in the BIAs for large 

whales (as previously discussed), 

feeding for large whales is not expected 

to be impacted by the proposed survey. 

Given the relatively small size of the 

ensonified area, it is unlikely that prey 

availability would be adversely affected 

by HRG survey operations. 

NARWs 

The status of the NARW population is 

of heightened concern and, therefore, 

merits additional analysis. As noted 

previously, elevated NARW mortalities 

began in June 2017 and there is an 

active UME. Overall, preliminary 

findings support human interactions, 

specifically vessel strikes and 

entanglements, as the cause of death for 

the majority of NARWs. As noted 

previously, the proposed survey area 

overlaps migratory and feeding BIAs 

and critical habitat for NARW. Because 

the proposed survey activities are 

temporary and the spatial extent of 

sound produced by the survey would be 

very small relative to the spatial extent 

of the available migratory and feeding 

habitats in the BIAs and critical habitat, 

NARW migration is not expected to be 

impacted by the proposed survey. Given 

the relatively small size of the 

ensonified area, it is unlikely that prey 

availability for NARW would be 

adversely affected by HRG survey 

operations. Required vessel strike 

avoidance measures will also decrease 

risk of ship strike during migration; no 

ship strike is expected to occur during 

PCW’s proposed activities. 

Additionally, only very limited take by 

Level B harassment of NARW has been 

requested and is being proposed for 

authorization by NMFS as HRG survey 

operations are required to maintain a 

500 m EZ and shutdown if a NARW is 

sighted at or within the EZ. The 500 m 

shutdown zone for NARWs is 

conservative, considering the Level B 

harassment isopleth for the most 

impactful acoustic source (i.e., boomer) 

is estimated to be 178 m, and thereby 

minimizes the potential for behavioral 

harassment of this species. As noted 

previously, Level A harassment is not 

expected due to the small PTS zones 

associated with HRG equipment types 

proposed for use. NMFS does not 

anticipate NARWs takes that would 

result from PCW’s proposed activities 

would impact annual rates of 

recruitment or survival. Thus, any takes 

that occur would not result in 

population level impacts. 

Other Marine Mammal Species With 

Active UMEs 

As noted previously, there are several 

active UMEs occurring in the vicinity of 

PCW’s proposed survey area. Elevated 

humpback whale mortalities have 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
32140 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 

occurred along the Atlantic coast from 

Maine through Florida since January 

2016. Of the cases examined, 

approximately half had evidence of 

human interaction (ship strike or 

entanglement). The UME does not yet 

provide cause for concern regarding 

population-level impacts. Despite the 

UME, the relevant population of 

humpback whales (the West Indies 

breeding population, or DPS) remains 

stable at approximately 12,000 

individuals. 

Beginning in January 2017, elevated 

minke whale strandings have occurred 

along the Atlantic coast from Maine 

through South Carolina, with highest 

numbers in Massachusetts, Maine, and 

New York. This event does not provide 

cause for concern regarding population 

level impacts, as the likely population 

abundance is greater than 20,000 

whales. 

The required mitigation measures are 

expected to reduce the number and/or 

severity of proposed takes for all species 

listed in Table 5, including those with 

active UMEs, to the level of least 

practicable adverse impact. In 

particular, they would provide animals 

the opportunity to move away from the 

sound source throughout the survey 

area before HRG survey equipment 

reaches full energy, thus preventing 

them from being exposed to sound 

levels that have the potential to cause 

injury (Level A harassment) or more 

severe Level B harassment. No Level A 

harassment is anticipated, even in the 

absence of mitigation measures, or 

proposed for authorization. 

NMFS expects that takes would be in 

the form of short-term Level B 

behavioral harassment by way of brief 

startling reactions and/or temporary 

vacating of the area, or decreased 

foraging (if such activity was 

occurring)—reactions that (at the scale 

and intensity anticipated here) are 

considered to be of low severity, with 

no lasting biological consequences. 

Since both the sources and marine 

mammals are mobile, animals would 

only be exposed briefly to a small 

ensonified area that might result in take. 

Additionally, required mitigation 

measures would further reduce 

exposure to sound that could result in 

more severe behavioral harassment. 

In summary and as described above, 

the following factors primarily support 

our preliminary determination that the 

impacts resulting from this activity are 

not expected to adversely affect the 

species or stock through effects on 

annual rates of recruitment or survival: 

• No mortality or serious injury is 

anticipated or proposed for 

authorization; 

• No Level A harassment (PTS) is 

anticipated, even in the absence of 

mitigation measures, or proposed for 

authorization; 

• Foraging success is not likely to be 

significantly impacted as effects on 

species that serve as prey species for 

marine mammals from the survey are 

expected to be minimal; 

• The availability of alternate areas of 

similar habitat value for marine 

mammals to temporarily vacate the 

survey area during the planned survey 

to avoid exposure to sounds from the 

activity; 

• Take is anticipated to be primarily 

Level B behavioral harassment 

consisting of brief startling reactions 

and/or temporary avoidance of the 

survey area; 

• While the survey area is within 

areas noted as migratory and feeding 

area BIAs and designated critical habitat 

for NARWs, the activities would occur 

in such a comparatively small area such 

that any avoidance of the survey area 

due to activities would not affect 

migration or feeding. In addition, 

mitigation measures to shut down at 500 

m to minimize potential for Level B 

behavioral harassment would limit the 

severity of any take that occurs; 

• While the survey area is within 

areas noted as feeding area BIAs for 

large whales, the activities would occur 

in such a comparatively small area such 

that any avoidance of the survey area 

due to activities would not affect prey 

availability or foraging activities. 

• The proposed mitigation measures, 

including visual monitoring and 

shutdowns, are expected to minimize 

potential impacts to marine mammals. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of the likely effects of the 

specified activity on marine mammals 

and their habitat, and taking into 

consideration the implementation of the 

proposed monitoring and mitigation 

measures, NMFS preliminarily finds 

that the total marine mammal take from 

the proposed activity will have a 

negligible impact on all affected marine 

mammal species or stocks. 

Small Numbers 

As noted above, only small numbers 

of incidental take may be authorized 

under sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of 

the MMPA for specified activities other 

than military readiness activities. The 

MMPA does not define small numbers 

and so, in practice, where estimated 

numbers are available, NMFS compares 

the number of individuals taken to the 

most appropriate estimation of 

abundance of the relevant species or 

stock in our determination of whether 

an authorization is limited to small 

numbers of marine mammals. When the 

predicted number of individuals to be 

taken is fewer than one third of the 

species or stock abundance, the take is 

considered to be of small numbers. 

Additionally, other qualitative factors 

may be considered in the analysis, such 

as the temporal or spatial scale of the 

activities. 

NMFS proposes to authorize 

incidental take of 16 marine mammal 

species. The total amount of takes 

proposed for authorization relative to 

the best available population abundance 

is less than 9 percent for NARW, less 

than 6 percent for common dolphin, less 

than 4 percent for humpback whales, 

and less than 2 percent for all other 

species and stocks, which NMFS 

preliminarily finds are small numbers of 

marine mammals relative to the 

estimated overall population 

abundances for those stocks. Please see 

Table 5. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of the proposed activity 

(including the proposed mitigation and 

monitoring measures) and the 

anticipated take of marine mammals, 

NMFS preliminarily finds that small 

numbers of marine mammals will be 

taken relative to the population size of 

the affected species or stocks. 

Unmitigable Adverse Impact Analysis 

and Determination 

There are no relevant subsistence uses 

of the affected marine mammal stocks or 

species implicated by this action. 

Therefore, NMFS has determined that 

the total taking of affected species or 

stocks would not have an unmitigable 

adverse impact on the availability of 

such species or stocks for taking for 

subsistence purposes. 

Endangered Species Act 

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered 

Species Act 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 Office of Protected 

Resources (OPR) consults internally 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species, in 

this case with NMFS Greater Atlantic 

Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO). 

NMFS is proposing to authorize the 

incidental take of five species of marine 

mammals which are listed under the 

ESA, including the North Atlantic right, 

fin, sei, and sperm whale, and has 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 103 / Friday, May 27, 2022 / Notices 32141 

determined that these activities fall 

within the scope of activities analyzed 

in GARFO’s programmatic consultation 

regarding geophysical surveys along the 

U.S. Atlantic coast in the three Atlantic 

Renewable Energy Regions (completed 

June 29, 2021; revised September 2021). 

The consultation concluded that NMFS’ 

issuance of incidental take authorization 

related to these activities are not likely 

to adversely affect ESA-listed marine 

mammals. 

Proposed Authorization 

As a result of these preliminary 

determinations, NMFS proposes to issue 

an IHA to PCW for conducting marine 

site characterization surveys off the 

coast of Massachusetts south to Long 

Island, New York for one year from the 

date of issuance, provided the 

previously mentioned mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting requirements 

are incorporated. A draft of the 

proposed IHA can be found at 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/ 

incidental-take-authorizations-undermarine-mammal-protection-act. 

Request for Public Comments 

We request comment on our analyses, 

the proposed authorization, and any 

other aspect of this notice of proposed 

IHA for the proposed marine site 

characterization surveys. We also 

request at this time comment on the 

potential renewal of this proposed IHA 

as described in the paragraph below. 

Please include with your comments any 

supporting data or literature citations to 

help inform decisions on the request for 

this IHA or a subsequent Renewal IHA. 

On a case-by-case basis, NMFS may 

issue a one-time, one-year Renewal 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, or nearly 

identical, activities as described in the 

Description of Proposed Activity section 

of this notice is planned or (2) the 

activities as described in the Description 

of Proposed Activity section of this 

notice would not be completed by the 

time the IHA expires and a renewal 

would allow for completion of the 

activities beyond that described in the 

Dates and Duration section of this 

notice, provided all of the following 

conditions are met: 

• 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 one year from 

expiration of the initial IHA). 

• The request for renewal must 

include the following: 

(1) 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). 

(2) 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. 

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. 

Dated: May 24, 2022. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11485 Filed 5–26–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XC066] 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Western Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold its 144th Scientific and Statistical 

Committee (SSC), Pelagic and 

International Standing Committee, 

Fishery Data Collection and Research 

Committee (FDCRC), Executive and 

Budget Standing Committee, and 191st 

Council meetings to take actions on 

fishery management issues in the 

Western Pacific Region. 

DATES: The meetings will be held 

between June 13 and June 23, 2022. For 

specific times and agendas, see 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: All meetings will be held in 

a hybrid format with in-person and 

remote participation (Webex) options 

available for the Council and advisory 

body members, and public attendance 

limited to web conference via Webex. 

Specific information on joining the 

meeting, connecting to the web 

conference and providing oral public 

comments will be posted on the Council 

website at www.wpcouncil.org. For 

assistance with the web conference 

connection, contact the Council office at 

(808) 522–8220. For all meetings, inperson attendance for Council and 

advisory body members will be hosted 

at the Council office, 1164 Bishop 

Street, Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director, 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council; phone: (808) 522–8220. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: All times 

shown are in Hawaii Standard Time. 

The Pelagic and International Standing 

Committee meeting will be held 

between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on June 13, 

2022. The 144th SSC meeting will be 

held between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on 

June 14–15, 2022, and between 11 a.m. 

and 1 p.m. on June 16, 2022. The 

FDCRC meeting will be held between 2 

p.m. and 4 p.m. on June 16, 2022. The 

Executive and Budget Standing 

Committee meeting will be held 

between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on June 20, 

2022. The 191st Council meeting will be 

held between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on June 

21–22, 2022, and between 8 a.m. and 12 

p.m. on June 23, 2022. 

Please note that the evolving public 

health situation regarding COVID–19 

may affect the conduct of the June 

Council and its associated meetings. At 

the time this notice was submitted for 

publication, the Council anticipated 

convening the meetings as a hybrid 

format for members and by web 

conference for public attendance. If 

public participation options will be 

modified, the Council will post notice 

on its website at www.wpcouncil.org by, 

to the extent practicable, 5 calendar 

days before each meeting. 

Agenda items noted as ‘‘Final Action’’ 

refer to actions that may result in 

Council transmittal of a proposed 

fishery management plan, proposed 

plan amendment, or proposed 

regulations to the U.S. Secretary of 

Commerce, under Sections 304 or 305 of 

the MSA. In addition to the agenda 

items listed here, the Council and its 

advisory bodies will hear 

recommendations from Council 

advisors. An opportunity to submit 

public comment will be provided 

throughout the agendas. The order in 

which agenda items are addressed may 

change and will be announced in 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1