Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to the Port of Anchorage Marine Terminal Redevelopment Project, Anchorage, Alaska

NMFS, upon application from the Port of Anchorage (POA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD), has issued regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to Phase II of the POA's Marine Terminal Redevelopment Project (MTRP) for the period July 2009 through July 2014. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of annual "Letters of Authorization" (LOAs) for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified time frames, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least adverse impact practicable on marine mammal species and their habitat, as well as requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.