Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 15, 2021 / Notices 31701 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB148] 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; 

Pelagic Longline Fishery Management; 

Rule Reconsideration 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public webinars; 

request for information. 

SUMMARY: NMFS published a final rule 

on April 2, 2020, that, among other 

things, established the Spring Gulf of 

Mexico Monitoring Area in an area 

previously closed to pelagic longline 

fishing in April and May annually. This 

Monitoring Area is open to pelagic 

longline fishing to collect fisherydependent data during a 3-year 

evaluation period. The rule also 

established a threshold amount of 

bluefin tuna incidental catch in the 

pelagic longline fishery in the area that, 

if reached, would close the area to 

pelagic longline fishing. Subsequently, 

the Congressional Joint Explanatory 

Statement (JES) that accompanied the 

2021 Appropriations Act included text 

on ‘‘Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna’’ 

directing NMFS to reconsider the 

decision in the final rule to open the 

Spring Gulf of Mexico Monitoring Area 

to pelagic longline fishing or to take 

additional monitoring action. This 

notice announces NMFS’s request for 

public input and two public webinars to 

gather information regarding the Spring 

Gulf of Mexico Monitoring Area that 

may not have been considered in the 

final rule. 

DATES: Comments and information 

related to the reconsideration of the 

Spring Gulf of Mexico Monitoring Area 

must be received on or before July 15, 

2021. NMFS will hold two public 

webinars on June 23, 2021, from 10 a.m. 

to 12 p.m., and on June 30, 2021, from 

2 p.m. to 4 p.m. For webinar registration 

information, see the ADDRESSES section 

of this document. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2018–0035, by electronic 

submission. Submit all electronic public 

comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking 

Portal. Go to https://

www.regulations.gov and enter ‘‘NOAA– 

NMFS–2018–0035’’ in the Search box. 

Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete 

the required fields, and enter or attach 

your comments. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after July 15, 

2021, may not be considered by NMFS. 

All information received generally will 

be posted for public viewing on 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address), confidential 

business information, or otherwise 

sensitive information submitted 

voluntarily by the sender will be 

publicly accessible. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). 

NMFS will hold two public webinars. 

Webinar details will be posted to the 

web page for information related to the 

Gear Restricted Area-Weak Hook final 

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

action/pelagic-longline-bluefin-tunaarea-based-and-weak-hookmanagement-measures. At the 

beginning of the conference call, the 

moderator will explain how the 

conference call will be conducted and 

how and when attendees can provide 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Craig Cockrell at craig.cockrell@

noaa.gov or 301–427–8503. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On April 2, 2020, NMFS published a 

final rule in the Federal Register (85 FR 

18812) that adjusted regulatory 

measures put in place to reduce 

incidental catch of bluefin tuna in the 

pelagic longline fishery for Atlantic 

highly migratory species (HMS). 

Specifically, the final measures 

converted the Spring Gulf of Mexico 

Gear Restricted Area to the ‘‘Spring Gulf 

of Mexico Monitoring Area’’ and 

established a 3-year (2020–2022) 

evaluation period. During this period, 

NMFS would evaluate whether gear 

restrictions in this area during the 

months of April and May were still 

needed in tandem with other measures 

to appropriately manage incidental 

catch of bluefin tuna in the pelagic 

longline fishery. During the evaluation 

period, the area remains open to pelagic 

longline fishing provided the amount of 

Individual Bluefin Quota (IBQ) 

allocation used to account for bluefin 

catch (landings and dead discards) stays 

below a specified threshold for the area. 

The threshold for the Spring Gulf of 

Mexico Monitoring Area is 63,150 

pounds (28.6 metric tons) for each year 

of the evaluation period. If the threshold 

is reached, the area closes. After the 3- 

year evaluation period, NMFS will 

review data collected from the 

Monitoring Area, including information 

from vessel monitoring system (VMS) 

vessel track and set report data, IBQ 

System data, electronic monitoring data, 

and other data streams; compile a 

report; and may take any further action 

if needed. 

Since April 2, 2020, no pelagic 

longline sets have occurred within the 

boundaries of the Spring Gulf of Mexico 

Monitoring Area. NMFS continues to 

monitor any fishing activity and 

incidental catch occurring during the 

evaluation period. Details on bluefin 

tuna catch data are available and 

updated periodically on the web page 

for information related to the Gear 

Restricted Area-Weak Hook final rule at 

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

pelagic-longline-bluefin-tuna-areabased-and-weak-hook-managementmeasures. 

Reconsideration Process 

The JES that accompanied the 2021 

Appropriations Act included text on 

‘‘Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna’’ 

directing NMFS to reconsider the 

decision in the Gear Restricted AreaWeak Hook final rule to open the Spring 

Gulf of Mexico Monitoring Area to 

pelagic longline fishing or to take 

additional monitoring action. The 

Appropriations Act and JES language 

can be found at https://

www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC2020-12-21/pdf/CREC-2020-12-21- 

house-bk3.pdf. NMFS developed a plan 

for the reconsideration of the Spring 

Gulf of Mexico Monitoring Area, which 

is available on the web page for 

information related to the Gear 

Restricted Area-Weak Hook final rule at 

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

pelagic-longline-bluefin-tuna-areabased-and-weak-hook-managementmeasures. The plan, which NMFS 

reviewed with the Atlantic HMS 

Advisory Panel on May 18, 2021, 

provides the public an opportunity to 

submit information that may not have 

been considered in the final rule. Once 

public input and information received 

are assessed, the agency’s conclusions 

will be communicated via appropriate 

mechanisms. 

Request for Information 

NMFS will consider public input and 

information provided through this 

process. Comments and information 

may be submitted via 

www.regulations.gov and at the public 

webinar. NMFS requests information be 

submitted by July 15, 2021. 

NMFS will hold two public webinars 

on June 23, 2021, from 10 a.m. to 12 

p.m., and on June 30, 2021, from 2 p.m. 

to 4 p.m. Registration information for 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
31702 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 15, 2021 / Notices 

the webinars can be found on the web 

page for information related to the Gear 

Restricted Area-Weak Hook final rule at 

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

pelagic-longline-bluefin-tuna-areabased-and-weak-hook-managementmeasures. Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Craig Cockrell at 

craig.cockrell@noaa.gov or 301–427– 

8503, at least 7 days prior to the 

meeting. 

The public is reminded that NMFS 

expects participants at the public 

webinars to conduct themselves 

appropriately. At the beginning of each 

the webinar, the moderator will explain 

how the webinar will be conducted and 

how and when participants can provide 

comments. NMFS will structure the 

webinars so that all members of the 

public will be able to comment, if they 

so choose, regardless of the 

controversial nature of the subject. 

Participants are expected to respect the 

ground rules, and those that do not may 

be asked to leave the webinar. 

Dated: June 10, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–12560 Filed 6–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XB094] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to U.S. Navy 

Construction at Naval Station Norfolk 

in Norfolk, Virginia 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of issuance of letter of 

authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), as amended, and 

implementing regulations, notification 

is hereby given that a Letter of 

Authorization (LOA) has been issued to 

the U.S. Navy (Navy) for the take of 

marine mammals incidental to 

construction activities at Naval Station 

Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia. 

DATES: Applicable from June 8, 2021 to 

June 6, 2026. 

ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting 

documentation are available online at: 

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

incidental-take-authorization-us-navyconstruction-naval-station-norfolknorfolk-virginia. In case of problems 

accessing these documents, please call 

the contact listed below (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Leah Davis, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the 

MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct 

the Secretary of Commerce to allow, 

upon request, the incidental, but not 

intentional, taking of small numbers of 

marine mammals by U.S. citizens who 

engage in a specified activity (other than 

commercial fishing) within a specified 

geographical region if certain findings 

are made and either regulations are 

issued or, if the taking is limited to 

harassment, a notice of a proposed 

authorization is provided to the public 

for review. 

An authorization for incidental 

takings shall be granted if NMFS finds 

that the taking will have a negligible 

impact on the species or stock(s), will 

not have an unmitigable adverse impact 

on the availability of the species or 

stock(s) for subsistence uses (where 

relevant), and if the permissible 

methods of taking and requirements 

pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring 

and reporting of such takings are set 

forth. NMFS has defined ‘‘negligible 

impact’’ in 50 CFR 216.103 as an impact 

resulting from the specified activity that 

cannot be reasonably expected to, and is 

not reasonably likely to, adversely affect 

the species or stock through effects on 

annual rates of recruitment or survival. 

Except with respect to certain 

activities not pertinent here, the MMPA 

defines ‘‘harassment’’ as: Any act of 

pursuit, torment, or annoyance which (i) 

has the potential to injure a marine 

mammal or marine mammal stock in the 

wild (Level A harassment); or (ii) has 

the potential to disturb a marine 

mammal or marine mammal stock in the 

wild by causing disruption of behavioral 

patterns, including, but not limited to, 

migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, 

feeding, or sheltering (Level B 

harassment). 

Summary of Request 

On May 6, 2021, we issued a final rule 

upon request from the Navy for 

authorization to take marine mammals 

incidental to construction activities (86 

FR 24340). The Navy plans to conduct 

construction activities including marine 

structure maintenance, pile 

replacement, and select waterfront 

improvements at Naval Station Norfolk. 

This construction will include use of 

vibratory pile driving and removal, and 

impact pile driving. The use of both 

vibratory and impact pile driving is 

expected to produce underwater sound 

at levels that have the potential to result 

in behavioral harassment of marine 

mammals. 

Authorization 

We have issued a LOA to Navy 

authorizing the take of marine mammals 

incidental to construction activities, as 

described above. Take of marine 

mammals will be minimized through 

the implementation of the following 

planned mitigation measures: (1) 

Required monitoring of the construction 

area to detect the presence of marine 

mammals before beginning construction 

activities; (2) shutdown of construction 

activities under certain circumstances to 

avoid injury of marine mammals; and 

(3) soft start for impact pile driving to 

allow marine mammals the opportunity 

to leave the area prior to beginning 

impact pile driving at full power. 

Additionally, the rule includes an 

adaptive management component that 

allows for timely modification of 

mitigation or monitoring measures 

based on new information, when 

appropriate. The Navy will submit 

reports as required. 

Based on these findings and the 

information discussed in the preamble 

to the final rule, the activities described 

under this LOA will have a negligible 

impact on marine mammal stocks and 

will not have an unmitigable adverse 

impact on the availability of the affected 

marine mammal stock for subsistence 

uses. 

Dated: June 8, 2021. 

Catherine Marzin, 

Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–12547 Filed 6–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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