50 C.F.R. § 216.103

Definitions

Read at: eCFRecfr.gov CornellLII GovInfogovinfo.gov CasesGoogle Scholar

In addition to definitions contained in the MMPA, and in § 216.3, and unless the context otherwise requires, in subsequent subparts to this part:

Arctic waters means the marine and estuarine waters north of 60° N. lat.

Citizens of the United States and U.S. citizens mean individual U.S. citizens or any corporation or similar entity if it is organized under the laws of the United States or any governmental unit defined in 16 U.S.C. 1362(13). U.S. Federal, state and local government agencies shall also constitute citizens of the United States for purposes of this part.

Incidental harassment, incidental taking and incidental, but not intentional, taking all mean an accidental taking. This does not mean that the taking is unexpected, but rather it includes those takings that are infrequent, unavoidable or accidental. (A complete definition of “take” is contained in § 216.3).

Negligible impact is an impact resulting from the specified activity that cannot be reasonably expected to, and is not reasonably likely to, adversely affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates of recruitment or survival.

Small numbers means a portion of a marine mammal species or stock whose taking would have a negligible impact on that species or stock.

Specified activity means any activity, other than commercial fishing, that takes place in a specified geographical region and potentially involves the taking of small numbers of marine mammals.

Specified geographical region means an area within which a specified activity is conducted and that has certain biogeographic characteristics.

Unmitigable adverse impact means an impact resulting from the specified activity:

(1) That is likely to reduce the availability of the species to a level insufficient for a harvest to meet subsistence needs by:

(i) Causing the marine mammals to abandon or avoid hunting areas;

(ii) Directly displacing subsistence users; or

(iii) Placing physical barriers between the marine mammals and the subsistence hunters; and

(2) That cannot be sufficiently mitigated by other measures to increase the availability of marine mammals to allow subsistence needs to be met.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 11 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 2002–2024 · leading case: Nat. Resources Def. Council, Inc. v. Evans, 279 F. Supp. 2d 1129 (N.D. Cal. 2003).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Nat. Resources Def. Council, Inc. v. Evans, 279 F. Supp. 2d 1129 (N.D. Cal. 2003). · cites it 7× “” 50 C.F.R. § 216.103 . Initially, NMFS’ proposed rule divided the world’s oceans into sixteen regions.”

Nat. Resources Def. Council, Inc. v. Evans, 232 F. Supp. 2d 1003 (N.D. Cal. 2002). · cites it 8× “” 50 C.F.R. § 216.103 . Initially, NMFS’ proposed rule divided the world’s oceans into sixteen regions.”

Nat. Resources Def. Council, Inc. v. Evans, 364 F. Supp. 2d 1083 (N.D. Cal. 2003). · cites it 7× “” 50 C.F.R. § 216.103 . Initially, NMFS’ proposed rule divided the world’s oceans into sixteen regions.”

Nat. Resources Def. Council, Inc. v. Pritzker, 828 F.3d 1125 (9th Cir. 2016). “” 50 C.F.R. § 216.103 . The inquiry as to “negligible impact” is thus focused on population-level effects — i.”

Native Vill. v. Nat'l Marine Fisheries Serv., 947 F. Supp. 2d 1031 (D. Alaska 2013). · cites it 2× “Docket 52 at 20 (quoting A 1806-07); 50 C.F.R. § 216.103 . . Docket 52 at 20-22.”

Conservation Council for Hawaii v. Nat'l Marine Fisheries Serv., 97 F. Supp. 3d 1210 (D. Haw. 2015). “” 50 C.F.R. § 216.103 . While NMFS has found that the Navy’s proposed activities will have a “negligible impact” on affected species or stock in the HSTT Study Area, that finding is so insufficiently supported as to be arbitrary and capricious.”

Melone v. Coit, 100 F.4th 21 (1st Cir. 2024). “He argues that NMFS must determine the region based on similar "biogeographic characteristics," see 50 C.F.R. § 216.103 , and that such a region should encapsulate the right whale's broader habitat up and down the eastern shoreline from Maine to Florida, or at least the entire…”

Allco Renewable Energy Ltd. v. Haaland (D. Mass. 2023). · cites it 5× “” 50 C.F.R. § 216.103 . The process for obtaining an IHA requires the applicant to submit a written request including “[a] detailed description of the specified activity or class of activities that can be expected to result in incidental taking of marine mammals[.”

Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Ross (D.D.C. 2022). · cites it 2× “” 50 C.F.R. § 216.103 . This negligible impact will be one significant issue here.”

Nantucket Residents Against Turbines v. United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Mgmt. (D. Mass. 2023). “” 50 C.F.R. § 216.103 . Here, the 2021 BiOp reflects that any such take is expected to be infrequent and accidental.”

Intertribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council v. Nat'l Marine Fisheries Serv., 970 F. Supp. 2d 988 (N.D. Cal. 2013). “” 50 C.F.R. § 216.103 . If the NMFS makes the required findings, it must promulgate regulations specifying permissible methods of take and other means of effecting the “least practicable adverse impact” on the affected species or stock and its habitat.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.