Take of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Seabird Research Activities in Central California

NMFS Office of Protected Resources, upon request from Point Blue Conservation Science (Point Blue), NMFS hereby issues regulations and a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to seabird research activities in central California over the course of five years. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of Letters of Authorization (LOA) for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat, as well as requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.