2024-21457. Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to SouthCoast Wind Energy Marine Site Characterization Surveys off the Coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Table 1—Geophysical Surveys Completed in 2023-2024 and Tracklines Remaining (km)

Location	IHA trackline planned 2023-2024	Total trackline completed 2023-2024	Planned trackline 2024-2025
ECC—Potential HDD	750	0	200
Lease Area—Inter-array Cable (IAC)	1,950	718	500

To facilitate public review and comment on the proposed renewal IHA, refer to the documents related to the previously issued 2021 and 2023 IHAs and we discuss any new or changed information herein. The previous documents include: the notice of the proposed IHA published in the Federal Register on May 20, 2021 (86 FR 27393); the notice of issuance of the 2021 IHA (86 FR 38033, July 19, 2021); the notice of the proposed IHA published in the Federal Register on March 8, 2023 (88 FR 14335), the notice of issuance of the 2023 IHA (88 FR 31678, May 18, 2023), and all associated references and documents. We also refer the reader to previous and current applications and monitoring reports submitted by SouthCoast Wind and its predecessor Mayflower Wind, which may be found at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/​action/​incidental-take-authorization-southcoast-wind-energy-llcs-marine-site-characterization.

Detailed Description of the Activity

A detailed description of the marine site characterization survey activities for which take is proposed here may be found in previous Federal Register notices and documents relevant to the previous IHAs (86 FR 27393, May 20, 2021; 88 FR 14335, March 8, 2023). The survey location and nature of the activities that could result in take of marine mammals (HRG surveys), including the types of equipment planned for use, are identical to those described in these previous notices, with the exception that the scale of work is reduced. Only a subset of the planned HRG work was completed under the 2023 IHA. Between May 18 and July 10, 2023, a total of 55 survey days and 718 km of tracklines were completed. For the remainder of 2024, SouthCoast Wind proposes to conduct a subset (700 km) of the remaining tracklines (table 1).

The proposed renewal would be effective from the date of issuance through May 11, 2025 ( i.e., one year after the expiration of the 2023 IHA).

Description of Marine Mammals

A description of the marine mammals in the area of the activities for which authorization of take is proposed here, including information on abundance, status, distribution, and hearing, may be found in the Federal Register notices of the proposed IHAs for the initial authorizations (86 FR 27393, May 20, 2021; 88 FR 14335, March 8, 2023). Since the publication of the final Federal Register notice (88 FR 31678, May 18, 2023), NMFS has reviewed the monitoring data from the prior IHA, the draft 2023 Stock Assessment Report (SAR), which included updates to certain stock abundances since the 2023 IHA was issued, information on relevant Unusual Mortality Events (UMEs), and other scientific literature.

The draft 2023 SAR updated the population estimate (Nbest) of North Atlantic right whales from 338 to 340 and annual mortality and serious injury from 31.2 to 27.2. The updated population estimate in the draft 2023 SAR is based upon sighting history through December 2021 (89 FR 5495, January 29, 2024). Total annual average observed North Atlantic right whale mortality during the 2017-2021 period was 7.1 animals and annual average observed fishery mortality was 4.6 animals, however, estimates of 27.2 total mortality and 17.6 fishery mortality account for undetected mortality and serious injury (89 FR 5495, January 29, 2024). In October 2023, NMFS released a technical report identifying that the North Atlantic right whale population size based on sighting history through 2022 was 356 whales, with a 95 percent credible interval ranging from 346 to 363 (Linden, 2023).

The draft 2023 SARs include updates for additional marine mammal species and stocks ( i.e., North Atlantic right whale, fin whale, sei whale, minke whale, sperm whale, Atlantic spotted dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, bottlenose dolphin (Western North Atlantic—Offshore stock), common dolphin, long-finned pilot whales, Risso's dolphin, harbor porpoise, and gray seal), which are specifically included in table 2 below. For species for which there has been no change between the finalization of the final 2022 SARs to the release of the draft 2023 SARs, NMFS has noted that below. ( print page 76800)

Table 2—Marine Mammal Species  ^a Likely To Occur Near the Project Area That May Be Taken by SouthCoast Wind's Activities

Common name	Scientific name	Stock	ESA/MMPA status; strategic (Y/N) b	Stock abundance (CV, N min, most recent abundance survey) c	PBR	Annual M/SI d
Order Artiodactyla—Cetacea—Superfamily Mysticeti (baleen whales)
Family Balaenidae:
North Atlantic right whale e	Eubalaena glacialis	Western Atlantic	E, D, Y	340 (0, 337, 2021)	0.7	27.2
Family Balaenopteridae (rorquals):
Fin whale	Balaenoptera physalus	Western North Atlantic	E, D, Y	6,802 (0.24, 5,573, 2021)	11	2.05
Sei whale	Balaenoptera borealis	Nova Scotia	E, D, Y	6,292 (1.02, 3,098, 2021)	6.2	0.6
Minke whale	Balaenoptera acutorostrata	Canadian Eastern Coastal	-, -, N	21,968 (0.31, 17,002, 2021)	170	9.4
Humpback whale	Megaptera novaeangliae	Gulf of Maine	-, -, N	1,396 (0, 1380, 2016)	22	12.15
Superfamily Odontoceti (toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises)
Family Physeteridae:
Sperm whale	Physeter macrocephalus	North Atlantic	E, D, Y	5,895 (0.29, 4,639, 2021)	9.28	0.2
Family Delphinidae:
Atlantic white-sided dolphin	Lagenorhynchus acutus	Western North Atlantic	-, -, N	93,233 (0.71, 54,443, 2021)	544	28
Atlantic spotted dolphin	Stenella frontalis	Western North Atlantic	-, -, N	31,506 (0.28, 25,042, 2021)	250	0
Common bottlenose dolphin	Tursiops truncatus	Western North Atlantic Offshore f	-, -, N	64,587 (0.24, 52,801, 2021)	507	28
		Northern Migratory Coastal		No changes
Long finned pilot whale g	Globicephala melas	Western North Atlantic	-, -, N	39,215 (0.30, 30,627, 2021)	306	5.7
Risso's dolphin	Grampus griseus	Western North Atlantic	-, -, N	44,067 (0.19, 30,662, 2021)	307	18
Common dolphin	Delphinus delphis	Western North Atlantic	-, -, N	93,100 (0.56, 59,897, 2021)	1,452	414
Family Phocoenidae (porpoises):
Harbor porpoise	Phocoena phocoena	Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy	-, -, N	85,765 (0.53, 56,420, 2021)	649	145
Order Carnivora—Superfamily Pinnipedia
Family Phocidae (earless seals):
Gray seal h	Halichoerus grypus	Western North Atlantic	-, -, N	27,911 (0.20, 23,624, 2021)	1,512	4,570
Harbor seal	Phoca vitulina	Western North Atlantic	-, -, N	61,336 (0.08, 57,637, 2018)	1,729	339
a  Information on the classification of marine mammal species can be found on the web page for The Society for Marine Mammalogy's Committee on Taxonomy ( https://marinemammalscience.org/​science-and-publications/​list-marine-mammal-species-subspecies).
b  Endangered Species Act (ESA) 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.
c  NMFS' marine mammal SARs can be found online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/​national/​marine-mammal-protection/​marine-mammal-stock-assessments. CV is the coefficient of variation; Nmin is the minimum estimate of stock abundance. In some cases, CV is not applicable.
d  These values, found in NMFS's SARs, represent annual levels of human-caused mortality plus serious injury from all sources combined ( e.g., commercial fisheries, ship strike). Annual M/SI often cannot be determined precisely and is in some cases presented as a minimum value or range.
e  The current SAR includes an estimated population (Nbest = 340) based on sighting history through December 2021 ( https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/​national/​marine-mammal-protection/​marine-mammal-stock-assessment-reports). In October 2023, NMFS released a technical report identifying that the North Atlantic right whale population size based on sighting history through 2022 was 356 whales, with a 95 percent credible interval ranging from 346 to 363 (Linden, 2023).
f  Estimates may include sightings of the coastal form.
g  Key uncertainties exist in the population size estimate for this species, including uncertain separation between short-finned and long-finned pilot whales, small negative bias due to lack of abundance estimate in the region between US and the Newfoundland/Labrador survey area, and uncertainty due to unknown precision and accuracy of the availability bias correction factor that was applied.
h  NMFS' stock abundance estimate (and associated Potential Biological Removal value) applies to the U.S. population only. Total stock abundance (including animals in Canada) is approximately 394,311. The annual M/SI value given is for the total stock.

Potential Effects on Marine Mammals and Their Habitat

A description of the potential effects of the specified activity on marine mammals and their habitat for the activities for which an authorization of incidental take is proposed here may be found in the Notice of the Proposed IHA for the 2021 authorization (86 FR 27393, May 20, 2021). This description was also incorporated by reference in the Notice of the Proposed IHA for the 2023 authorization (88 FR 14335, March 8, 2023), for which this Notice is a Proposed renewal. NMFS has reviewed the monitoring data from the 2023 IHA, recent draft SARs, information on relevant UMEs, and other scientific literature, and determined that there is no new information that affects our initial analysis of impacts on marine mammals and their habitat.

Estimated Take

A detailed description of the methods and inputs used to estimate take for the specified activity are found in the Notice of the Proposed IHA for the initial authorization (88 FR 14335, March 8, 2023). The source levels applicable to this authorization remain unchanged from the previously issued IHA. Similarly, the stocks taken, marine mammal density data, methods of take, and types of take remain unchanged from the previously issued 2023 IHA. The number of requested takes is reduced (table 3), due to the smaller number of tracklines being surveyed, as indicated above in table 1. ( print page 76801)

Table 3—Number of Takes by Level B Harassment Proposed for Authorization and Percentages of Each Stock Abundance for 2024-2025 Surveys

Species	Combined density based calculated takes	NMFS proposed authorized take	NMFS stock abundance	Percentage of NMFS stock abundance
North Atlantic right whale	1.2	a  2	340	0.59
Fin whale	0.5	c  3	6,802	0.04
Sei whale	0.3	a  2	6,292	0.03
Minke whale	2.7	3	21,968	0.02
Humpback whale	0.5	b  11	1,396	0.86
Sperm whale	0.1	a  2	5,895	0.03
Atlantic white-sided dolphin	5.8	a  28	93,233	0.03
Atlantic spotted dolphin	1.0	a  29	31,506	0.09
Common bottlenose dolphin	3.0	b  31	64,587	0.05
Long finned pilot whale	0.4	a  8	39,215	0.02
Risso's dolphin	0.5	a  5	44,067	0.02
Common dolphin	49.3	b  429	93,100	0.46
Harbor porpoise	19	19	85,765	0.02
Gray seal	32.4	32	27,911	0.12
Harbor seal	14.4	14	61,366	0.24
a  Take increased to the species mean group size (86 FR 38033, July 19, 2021; 88 FR 31678, May 18, 2023).
b  Take increased to equal the estimate of potential take based on previous PSO data (86 FR 38033, July 19, 2021; 88 FR 31678, May 18, 2023).
c  Average group size for fin whales is assumed here as 2. However, we increase the proposed authorized take number to 3 to equal the number of whales reported observed within the estimated harassment zone by SouthCoast during 2023-24 survey effort.