40998 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 29, 2017 / Notices 

Groundfish Advisory Subpanel 8 a.m. 

Groundfish Management Team 8 a.m. 

Sacramento River Winter Chinook 

Workgroup 8 a.m. 

Salmon Advisory Subpanel 8 a.m. 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 8 

a.m. 

Enforcement Consultants 3 p.m. 

Day 4—Thursday, September 14, 2017 

California State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Oregon State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Washington State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Ecosystem Advisory Subpanel 8 a.m. 

Ecosystem Workgroup 8 a.m. 

Groundfish Advisory Subpanel 8 a.m. 

Groundfish Management Team 8 a.m. 

Highly Migratory Species Advisory 

Subpanel 8 a.m. 

Highly Migratory Species Management 

Team 8 a.m. 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

Ecosystem Subcommittee 8 a.m. 

Enforcement Consultants Ad Hoc 

Groundfish Stock Assessment 

Presentation/Q & A 7:30 p.m. 

Day 5—Friday, September 15, 2017 

California State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Oregon State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Washington State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Groundfish Advisory Subpanel 8 a.m. 

Groundfish Management Team 8 a.m. 

Highly Migratory Species Advisory 

Subpanel 8 a.m. 

Highly Migratory Species Management 

Team 8 a.m. 

Enforcement Consultants Ad Hoc 

Day 6—Saturday, September 16, 2017 

California State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Oregon State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Washington State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Groundfish Advisory Subpanel 8 a.m. 

Groundfish Management Team 8 a.m. 

Highly Migratory Species Advisory 

Subpanel 8 a.m. 

Highly Migratory Species Management 

Team 8 a.m. 

Enforcement Consultants Ad Hoc 

Day 7—Sunday, September 17, 2017 

California State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Oregon State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Washington State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Groundfish Advisory Subpanel 8 a.m. 

Groundfish Management Team 8 a.m. 

Enforcement Consultants Ad Hoc 

Day 8—Monday, September 18, 2017 

California State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Oregon State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Washington State Delegation 7 a.m. 

Although non-emergency issues not 

contained in this agenda may come 

before the Pacific Council for 

discussion, those issues may not be the 

subject of formal Council action during 

this meeting. Council action will be 

restricted to those issues specifically 

listed in this notice and any issues 

arising after publication of this notice 

that require emergency action under 

Section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, provided the public has been 

notified of the Pacific Council’s intent to 

take final action to address the 

emergency. 

Special Accommodations 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Mr. Kris 

Kleinschmidt at (503) 820–2280, ext. 

411 at least 10 business days prior to the 

meeting date. 

Dated: August 24, 2017. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18277 Filed 8–24–17; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF608 

Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to 

the U.S. Air Force 86 Fighter Weapons 

Squadron Conducting Long Range 

Strike Weapons System Evaluation 

Program 

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) and implementing regulations, 

notice is hereby given that a Letter of 

Authorization (LOA) has been issued to 

the U.S. Air Force (USAF) 86 Fighter 

Weapon Squadron (86 FWS) to take 

marine mammals incidental to Long 

Range Strike (LRS) Weapons System 

Evaluation Program (WSEP) exercises 

on the Barking Sands Underwater Range 

Expansion (BSURE) area of the Pacific 

Missile Range Facility (PMRF) off Kauai, 

Hawaii. These activities are considered 

military readiness activities pursuant to 

the MMPA, as amended by the National 

Defense Authorization Act of 2004 

(NDAA). 

DATES: This LOA is valid from August 

21, 2017, through August 20, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: The LOA and supporting 

documents may be obtained online at: 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/ 

incidental/military.htm. In case of 

problems accessing these documents, 

please call the contact listed below (see 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jaclyn Daly, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, 301–427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA 

directs 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 regulations are 

issued. Under the MMPA, the term 

‘‘take’’ means to harass, hunt, capture, 

or kill or to attempt to harass, hunt, 

capture, or kill marine mammals. NMFS 

has been delegated the authority to issue 

regulations and Letters of 

Authorizations allowing the take of 

marine mammals incidental to specified 

activities. 

The NDAA (Pub. L. 108–136) 

removed the ‘‘small numbers’’ and 

‘‘specified geographical region’’ 

limitations indicated above and 

amended the definition of ‘‘harassment’’ 

as it applies to a ‘‘military readiness 

activity’’ to read as follows (Section 

3(18)(B) of the MMPA): ‘‘(i) Any act that 

injures or has the significant potential to 

injure a marine mammal or marine 

mammal stock in the wild (Level A 

harassment); or (ii) Any act that disturbs 

or is likely to disturb a marine mammal 

or marine mammal stock in the wild by 

causing disruption of natural behavioral 

patterns, including, but not limited to, 

migration, surfacing, nursing, breeding, 

feeding, or sheltering, to a point where 

such behavioral patterns are abandoned 

or significantly altered (Level B 

Harassment).’’ 

An authorization for incidental taking 

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 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 29, 2017 / Notices 40999 

species or stock through effects on 

annual rates of recruitment or survival.’’ 

Regulations governing the taking of 

individuals of 16 species of marine 

mammals, representing 16 stocks, by 

Level B harassment, and 4 of those same 

species by Level A harassment, 

incidental to 86 FWS LRS WSEP 

training activities are valid from August 

21, 2017, through August 20, 2022 and 

are codified at 50 CFR part 218, subpart 

F. The regulations include mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting requirements. 

Pursuant to those regulations, NMFS 

issued a five-year LOA for the incidental 

take of marine mammals during training 

activities on BSURE area of the PMRF 

on April 21, 2017. For detailed 

information on this action, please refer 

to the August 22, 2017 Federal Register 

notice (82 FR 39684) and 50 CFR part 

218, subpart F. 

Summary of Request 

On December 21, 2016, NMFS 

received an adequate and complete 

application from the 86 FWS for 

regulations governing the taking of 16 

species of marine mammals 

representing 16 stocks incidental to LRS 

WSEP activities in the BSURE of the 

PMRF off Kauai, Hawaii. On January 6, 

2017, we published a notice of receipt 

of the 86 FWS’s application in the 

Federal Register (82 FR 1702) 

requesting public comment on the 

application and subsequently published 

a notice of proposed rulemaking in the 

Federal Register on May 5, 2017 (82 FR 

21156) requesting public comment on 

the proposed rule. Since publishing the 

proposed rule, the 86 FWS clarified 

training would only occur four days per 

year, not five as presented in the 

application and proposed rule. 

Moreover, the 86 FWS decreased the 

number of munitions it would deploy 

annually, by 40 to 92 percent depending 

on year. This decreases the number of 

anticipated and authorized takes for this 

activity compared to what was 

presented in the proposed rule. In 

addition, NMFS worked with the 86 

FWS to develop a comprehensive 

marine mammal mitigation and 

monitoring plan designed to decrease 

potential impacts to marine mammals. 

To support issuance of the LOA, NMFS 

adopted the 86 FWS’ Final 

Environmental Assessment/Overseas 

Environmental Assessment (EA/OEA) 

for the Long Range Strike Weapon 

Systems Evaluation Program at Kauai, 

Hawaii, and issued a Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI) on August 

11, 2017. 

The final rule (82 FR 39684, August 

22, 2017) and 86 FWS EA/OEA include 

a complete description of the 86 FWS’s 

specified training activities incidental to 

which NMFS is authorizing take of 

marine mammals. Air-to-surface 

exercises involving surface and slightly 

subsurface live munition detonations 

are the stressors most likely to result in 

impacts on marine mammals that could 

rise to the level of harassment. 

Authorization 

We have issued a LOA to the 86 FWS 

authorizing the take of marine 

mammals, by harassment, incidental to 

LRS WSEP training activities on the 

BSURE area of the PMRF as described 

above. The level and type of take 

authorized by the LOA is the same as 

the level and type of take analyzed in 

the final rule (82 FR 39864, August 22, 

2017). Take by mortality or serious 

injury is not anticipated or authorized. 

Take of marine mammals will be 

minimized through implementation of 

mitigation and monitoring measures, 

including: Aerial surveys using sensor 

pods and range camera monitoring 

before, during, and after training; 

delaying exercises if a marine mammal 

is observed within an exclusion zone to 

avoid exposing marine mammals to 

levels of explosives likely to result in 

injury or death; delaying exercises if 

marine mammals are observed within a 

designated harassment zone if take is 

exceeded or not authorized, and shifting 

target coordinates as far from an 

observed marine mammal as possible. 

The 86 FWS is required to also comply 

with monitoring and reporting measures 

under 50 CFR 218.55 which includes 

collecting data from the PMRF 

hydrophones to better understand 

impacts, if any, of LRS WSEP training 

activities on marine mammals. 

Additionally, the rule and LOA include 

an adaptive management component 

that allows for timely modification of 

mitigation or monitoring measures 

based on new information, when 

appropriate. For full details on the 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

requirements, please refer to the final 

rule (82 FR 39684; August 22 2017). 

Issuance of the LOA is based on 

findings, described in the preamble to 

the final rule, that the total taking of 

marine mammals incidental to the 86 

FWS’s training activities on the PMRF 

will have a negligible impact on the 

affected marine mammal species or 

stocks and will not have an unmitigable 

adverse impact on the availability of 

such species or stocks for taking for 

subsistence purposes. 

The LOA will remain valid through 

August 20, 2022, provided the 86 FWS 

remains in conformance with the 

conditions of the regulations and the 

LOA, including the mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting requirements 

described in 50 CFR part 218, subpart F 

and the LOA. 

Dated: August 24, 2017. 

Donna S. Wieting, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18260 Filed 8–28–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF644 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council will hold a 3-day 

meeting of its Standing, Reef Fish, and 

Socioeconomics Scientific and 

Statistical Committees (SSC). 

DATES: The meeting will convene on 

Tuesday, September 12, 2017, from 9 

a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday, September 

13, 2017, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 

Thursday, September 14, 2017, from 

8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. EDT. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in 

the Gulf Council’s Conference Room. 

Council address: Gulf of Mexico 

Fishery Management Council, 2203 N. 

Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, FL 

33607; telephone: (813) 348–1630. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steven Atran, Senior Fishery Biologist, 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council; steven.atran@gulfcouncil.org, 

telephone: (813) 348–1630. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Day 1—Tuesday, September 12, 2017; 9 

a.m.–5 p.m. 

I. Introductions and Adoption of 

Agenda 

II. Approval of Minutes 

a. March 27–29, 2017 SSC meeting 

b. May 10, 2017 SSC webinar 

III. Selection of SSC representative at 

October 2–5, 2017 Council meeting 

in Biloxi, MS 

Standing and Socioeconomic SSC 

Session 

IV. Grouper and Tilefish 5-year IFQ 

Review 

a. Safety at sea 

b. Stakeholders survey 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES