Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Northeast Fisheries Science Center Fisheries Research

NMFS' Office of Protected Resources (hereinafter ``OPR'' or ``we'' or ``our''), upon request of NMFS' Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), hereby issues a regulation to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to fisheries research conducted in a specified geographical region, over the course of five years. This regulation, which allows for the issuance of a Letter of Authorization for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes, prescribes 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.