Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking of Ringed Seals Incidental to On-Ice Seismic Activities

NMFS, upon application from BP Exploration (Alaska) (BPXA) on behalf of itself and several other oil exploration companies, issues regulations to govern the unintentional take of a small number of seals incidental to winter seismic operations in the Beaufort Sea, AK. Issuance of regulations governing unintentional incidental takes in connection with particular activities is required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) when the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), after notice and opportunity for comment, finds, as here, that such takes will have a negligible impact on the species and stocks of marine mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of them for subsistence uses. These regulations do not authorize the industry's proposed activity, such authorization is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of the Interior and is not within the jurisdiction of the Secretary. Rather, these regulations authorize the unintentional incidental take of marine mammals in connection with such activities and prescribe methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the species and its habitat, and on the availability of the species for subsistence uses. DATES: Effective February 2, 1998 until December 31, 2002.