(a) Compliance coordinator. NEFSC shall designate a compliance coordinator who shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with all requirements of any LOA issued pursuant to § 216.106 of this chapter and § 219.7 and for preparing for any subsequent request(s) for incidental take authorization.

(b) Visual monitoring program. (1) Marine mammal visual monitoring must occur prior to deployment of beam, mid-water, and bottom trawl, bottom and pelagic longline, gillnet, fyke net, pot, trap, and rotary screw trap gear; throughout deployment of gear and active fishing of all research gears; and throughout retrieval of all research gear;

(2) Marine mammal watches must be conducted by watch-standers (those navigating the vessel and/or other crew) at all times when the vessel is being operated;

(3) NEFSC must monitor any potential disturbance of pinnipeds on ledges, paying particular attention to the distance at which different species of pinniped are disturbed. Disturbance must be recorded according to a three-point scale of response to disturbance; and

(4) The NEFSC must continue to conduct a local census of pinniped haulout areas prior to conducting any fisheries research in the Penobscot River estuary. The NEFSC's census reports must include an accounting of disturbance based on the three-point scale of response severity metrics.

(c) Training. (1) NEFSC must conduct annual training for all chief scientists and other personnel (including its cooperating institutions, contracted vessels, or commercially-hired captains) who may be responsible for conducting dedicated marine mammal visual observations to explain mitigation measures and monitoring and reporting requirements, mitigation and monitoring protocols, marine mammal identification, completion of datasheets, and use of equipment. NEFSC may determine the agenda for these trainings;

(2) NEFSC must also dedicate a portion of training to discussion of best professional judgment, including use in any incidents of marine mammal interaction and instructive examples where use of best professional judgment was determined to be successful or unsuccessful; and

(3) NEFSC must coordinate with NMFS' Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) regarding surveys conducted in the southern portion of the Atlantic coast region, such that training and guidance related to handling procedures and data collection is consistent.

(d) Handling procedures and data collection. (1) NEFSC must develop and implement standardized marine mammal handling, disentanglement, and data collection procedures. These standard procedures will be subject to approval by NMFS Office of Protected Resources (OPR);

(2) When practicable, for any marine mammal interaction involving the release of a live animal, NEFSC must collect necessary data to facilitate a serious injury determination;

(3) NEFSC must provide its relevant personnel with standard guidance and training regarding handling of marine mammals, including how to identify different species, bring/or not bring an individual aboard a vessel, assess the level of consciousness, remove fishing gear, return an individual to water, and log activities pertaining to the interaction; and

(4) NEFSC must record such data on standardized forms, which will be subject to approval by OPR. The data must be collected at a sufficient level of detail (e.g., circumstances leading to the interaction, extent of injury, condition upon release) to facilitate serious injury determinations under the MMPA.

(e) Reporting. (i) NEFSC must report all incidents of marine mammal interaction to NMFS' Protected Species Incidental Take database within 48 hours of occurrence. Information related to marine mammal interaction (animal captured or entangled in research gear) must include details of survey effort, full descriptions of any observations of the animals, the context (vessel and conditions), decisions made and rationale for decisions made in vessel and gear handling.

(ii) The NEFSC must submit annual reports. The period of reporting will be one year beginning at the date of issuance of the LOA. NEFSC must submit an annual summary report to OPR not later than ninety days following the end of the reporting period. These reports must contain, at minimum, the following:

(A) Annual line-kilometers surveyed during which the EK60, ME70, DSM300 (or equivalent sources) were predominant;

(B) Summary information regarding use of the following: All trawl gear, all longline gear, all gillnet gear, all dredge gear, fyke net gear, and rotary screw trap gear (including number of sets, hook hours, tows, and tending frequency specific to each gear type);

(C) Accounts of all incidents of marine mammal interactions, including circumstances of the event and descriptions of any mitigation procedures implemented or not implemented and why;

(D) Summary information from the pinniped haulout censuses in the and summary information related to any disturbance of pinnipeds, including event-specific total counts of animals present, counts of reactions according to a three-point scale of response severity, and distance of closest approach;

(E) A written evaluation of the effectiveness of NEFSC mitigation strategies in reducing the number of marine mammal interactions with survey gear, including best professional judgment and suggestions for changes to the mitigation strategies, if any;

(F) Final outcome of serious injury determinations for all incidents of marine mammal interactions where the animal(s) were released alive; and

(G) A summary of all relevant training provided by the NEFSC and any coordination with the NMFS Southeast Fishery Science Center, the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, and the Southeast Regional Office.

(iii) Reporting of North Atlantic right whales and injured or dead marine mammals:

(A) In the event that the NEFSC observes a North Atlantic right whale during a survey, they must report the sighting as soon as possible to 866-755-6622 if the sighting occurs in the Northeast region (VA to ME) or to 877-WHALE-HELP if the sighting occurs in the Southeast region (FL to NC). The NEFSC must also report the sighting to the U.S. Coast Guard via Channel 16.

(B) In the event that the NEFSC discovers an injured or dead marine mammal, NEFSC must report the incident to OPR ([email protected]), 866-755-6622 in the Northeast region (VA to ME) and 877-WHALE-HELP in the Southeast region (FL to NC).

(C) In the unanticipated event that the specified activity clearly causes the take of a marine mammal in a prohibited manner, NEFSC must immediately cease such activity until such time as an appropriate decision regarding activity continuation can be made by the NEFSC Director (or designee). The incident must be immediately reported to the contacts in 6(c)(ii). OPR will review the circumstances of the prohibited take and work with NEFSC to determine what measures are necessary to minimize the likelihood of further prohibited take and ensure MMPA compliance. The report must include the following information:

(i) Time, date, and location (latitude/longitude) of the first discovery (and updated location information if known and applicable);

(ii) Species identification (if known) or description of the animal(s) involved;

(iii) Condition of the animal(s) (including carcass condition if the animal is dead);

(iv) Observed behaviors of the animal(s), if alive;

(v) If available, photographs or video footage of the animal(s); and

(vi) General circumstances under which the animal was discovered.

(3) In the event of a ship strike of a marine mammal by any vessel involved in the activities covered by the authorization, NEFSC must report the incident to OPR and to the appropriate Regional Stranding Network as soon as feasible. The report must include the following information:

(i) Time, date, and location (latitude/longitude) of the incident;

(ii) Species identification (if known) or description of the animal(s) involved;

(iii) Vessel's speed during and leading up to the incident;

(iv) Vessel's course/heading and what operations were being conducted (if applicable);

(v) Status of all sound sources in use;

(vi) Description of avoidance measures/requirements that were in place at the time of the strike and what additional measures were taken, if any, to avoid strike;

(vii) Environmental conditions (e.g., wind speed and direction, Beaufort sea state, cloud cover, visibility) immediately preceding the strike;

(viii) Estimated size and length of animal that was struck;

(ix) Description of the behavior of the marine mammal immediately preceding and following the strike;

(x) If available, description of the presence and behavior of any other marine mammals immediately preceding the strike;

(xi) Estimated fate of the animal (e.g., dead, injured but alive, injured and moving, blood or tissue observed in the water, status unknown, disappeared); and

(xii) To the extent practicable, photographs or video footage of the animal(s).