NEFSC Programmatic Biop
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................. 1 2.0 CONSULTATION HISTORY .......................................... 2 2.1 Prior Formal Consultations on Actions Conducted and Funded by the NEFSC ...... 2 2.2 Programmatic Formal Consultation for NEFSC Research Activities .............. 4 2.3 Other Associated Consultations (non-ESA) ............................... 6 3.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTIONS ............................ 6 3.1 Fisheries and Ecosystem Research Conducted and Funded by the NEFSC .......... 7 3.2 Regulations and a Letter of Authorization to Permit Marine Mammal Takes ....... 10 3.3 Action Area .................................................... 12 4.0 STATUS OF LISTED SPECIES AND CRITICAL HABITAT ................... 13 4.1 Species Not Likely to be Adversely Affected by the Proposed Action ............ 13 4.2 Species Likely to be Adversely Affected by the Proposed Action ................ 18 4.2.1 Status of Sperm Whales......................................... 18 4.2.2 Status of Sea Turtles ........................................... 23 4.2.3 Status of Shortnose Sturgeon ..................................... 59 4.2.4 Status of Atlantic Sturgeon ...................................... 67 4.2.5 Status of the Gulf of Maine DPS of Atlantic Salmon ..................... 94 5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE ...................................... 106 5.1 Federal Actions that have Undergone Section 7 Consultation ................. 106 5.1.1 Authorization of Fisheries through Fishery Management Plans ............ 107 5.1.2 Hopper Dredging ............................................ 110 5.1.3 Vessel Activity and Military Operations ............................ 112 5.1.4 Research and Other Permitted Activities ............................ 114 5.2 Non-Federally Regulated Fisheries ................................... 116 5.3 Other Activities ................................................. 123 5.3.1 Maritime Industry ........................................... 123 5.3.2 Pollution .................................................. 123 5.3.3 Coastal Development ......................................... 123 5.3.4 Global Climate Change and Ocean Acidification ...................... 124 5.4 Reducing Threats to ESA-listed Species ................................ 133 5.4.1 Education and Outreach Activities ................................ 133 5.4.2 Stranding and Salvage Programs ................................. 133 5.4.3 Sea Turtle Disentanglement Network .............................. 134 5.4.4 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ............ 134 5.4.5 Regulatory Measures for Sperm Whales ............................ 135 5.4.6 Regulatory Measures for Sea Turtles .............................. 137 5.4.7 Regulatory Measures for Shortnose and Atlantic Sturgeon ............... 141 5.4.8 Regulatory Measures for Atlantic Salmon ........................... 143 6.0 EFFECTS OF THE ACTIONS ....................................... 144 6.1 Effects to Sperm Whales .......................................... 144 6.2 Effects to Sea Turtles ............................................. 146 6.3 Effects to Shortnose Sturgeon ....................................... 150 6.4 Effects to Atlantic Sturgeon ........................................ 151 6.5 Effects to the Gulf of Maine DPS of Atlantic Salmon ....................... 153 6.6 Effects due to Interactions with Fisheries and Ecosystem Research Vessels ....... 155 6.7 Effects to Prey ................................................. 157 6.8 Effects to Habitat ............................................... 158 7.0 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS .......................................... 159 8.0 INTEGRATION AND SYNTHESIS OF EFFECTS ......................... 161 8.1 Sperm Whales.................................................. 162 8.2 Northwest Atlantic DPS of Loggerhead Sea Turtles ........................ 164 8.3 Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles ......................................... 168 8.4 North Atlantic DPS of Green Sea Turtles ............................... 172 8.5 Leatherback Sea Turtles .......................................... 174 8.6 Shortnose Sturgeon .............................................. 176 8.7 Atlantic Sturgeon ............................................... 179 8.7.1 Determination of DPS Composition ............................... 180 8.7.2 Gulf of Maine DPS ........................................... 180 8.7.3 New York Bight DPS ......................................... 183 8.7.4 Chesapeake Bay DPS ......................................... 187 8.7.5 Carolina DPS ............................................... 190 8.7.6 South Atlantic DPS ........................................... 192 8.8 Gulf of Maine DPS of Atlantic Salmon ................................. 195 9.0 CONCLUSION .................................................. 198 10.0 INCIDENTAL TAKE STATEMENT ................................... 198 10.1 Anticipated Amount or Extent of Incidental Take ......................... 199 10.2 Reasonable and Prudent Measures ................................... 200 10.3 Terms and Conditions ............................................ 201 11.0 CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS .............................. 206 12.0 REINITIATION OF CONSULTATION ................................. 207 13.0 LITERATURE CITED ............................................. 208 APPENDIX A ........................................................... APPENDIX B ............................................................ APPENDIX C ........................................................... APPENDIX D ........................................................... APPENDIX E ........................................................... APPENDIX F ............................................................ APPENDIX G ........................................................... APPENDIX H ........................................................... 1.0 INTRODUCTION Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires each Federal agency to insure that any action authorized, funded, or carried out by such agency is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of the designated critical habitat of such species. When the action of a Federal agency may affect a species or critical habitat that is protected under the ESA, that agency is required to consult with either the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), depending upon the species and/or critical habitats that may be affected. In instances where the NMFS or USFWS authorizes, funds, or carries out an action that may affect ESA-listed species or critical habitat under their respective jurisdictions, the agency in question must conduct intra-service consultation. The proposed Federal actions described in this document are fisheries and ecosystem research conducted and funded by the NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) over a five- year period. Some of the projects proposed to be conducted or funded by the NEFSC utilize fishing gears, equipment, or active acoustic sources with the potential to incidentally take marine mammals. Those activities must also be authorized by the NMFS Office of Protected Resources (OPR) through the issuance of a Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) letter of authorization (LOA). As a result of these two interrelated sets of Federal actions, we have been requested and are required to perform an intra-service section 7 consultation to assess their impacts on ESA- listed species and critical habitats under our jurisdiction, across the full range of activities and locations where they are proposed to occur. As stated in its May 8, 2015, request for formal section 7 consultation, the NEFSC is serving as the lead action agency. This is because it is proposing to conduct and fund the fisheries and ecosystem research activities discussed herein, all of which were identified as the primary Federal action in its December 2014 draft programmatic environmental assessment (DPEA) (NEFSC 2014). As a result, the NEFSC assumes all responsibilities of that designation. Several of the proposed research activities also require an LOA from the OPR for the potential incidental take of marine mammals protected under the MMPA. The LOA issuance by the OPR for a five- year period is also part of the proposed actions, and has been identified in the DPEA as the secondary Federal action (NEFSC 2014). Therefore, on July 15, 2015, shortly following the publication of a proposed rule on its LOA in the Federal Register, the OPR also requested formal section 7 consultation and is serving as a cooperating agency. As indicated and described in detail in the DPEA, the NEFSC’s proposed actions are to conduct and fund a wide range of fisheries and ecosystem research activities annually as part of its mission. This includes both fishery-independent and industry-associated research and survey programs. Primary research activities include: bottom trawl surveys to support assessments of multiple groundfish and shrimp species as well as the status of benthic habitats; pelagic trawl surveys to assess Atlantic herring stocks; dredge and video camera surveys to assess scallop, surfclam, and ocean quahog stocks and scallop habitat recovery; longline and gillnet surveys to research