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Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Fisheries Research

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Published April 3rd, 2026
Detected April 3rd, 2026
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Summary

NOAA issued a correction to its proposed rule for takes of marine mammals incidental to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries research activities. The correction addresses the original proposed rule published on 03/18/2026. A 14-day public comment period is now open, closing on 04/17/2026.

What changed

This document corrects the proposed rule for marine mammal incidental take authorizations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's fisheries research activities. The correction modifies the earlier proposed rule (Document No. 2026-05263) which established the framework for authorizing incidental takes of marine mammals during specified research activities.

Compliance officers and affected entities should review the corrections and prepare public comments for submission by April 17, 2026. The correction may impact research permit applications, mitigation requirements, or monitoring protocols for entities conducting marine fisheries research in Texas waters. Failure to submit timely comments may result in missed opportunities to influence the final rule.

What to do next

  1. Review the correction to the Texas Parks and Wildlife marine mammal incidental take proposed rule
  2. Submit public comments via Regulations.gov or the Federal eRulemaking Portal by 04/17/2026
  3. Assess whether existing research protocols or permit applications need updating based on the correction

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Proposed Rule

You may be interested in this older document that published on 03/18/2026 with action 'Proposed rule; request for comments.' View Document

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Fisheries Research; Correction

A Proposed Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 04/03/2026

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  2. Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Agency/Docket Number Docket No. 260303-0061 CFR 50 CFR 217 Document Citation 91 FR 16893 Document Number 2026-06515 Document Type Proposed Rule Page 16893 (1 page) Publication Date 04/03/2026 RIN 0648-BN58 Published Content - Document Details
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  • Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Agency/Docket Number Docket No. 260303-0061 CFR 50 CFR 217 Document Citation 91 FR 16893 Document Number 2026-06515 Document Type Proposed Rule Page 16893 (1 page) Publication Date 04/03/2026 RIN 0648-BN58 Published Content - Document Details
  • Document Dates Published Content - Document Dates Comments Close 04/17/2026 Dates Text Comments and information must be received no later than April 17, 2026. Published Content - Document Dates
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| Docket No. 260303-0061
(2 Documents) | | | |
| --- | | | |
| Date | | Action | Title |
| | 2026-04-03 | Proposed rule; correction. | Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Fisheries Research; Correction |
| | 2026-03-18 | Proposed rule; request for comments. | Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Fisheries Research |

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- Public Inspection Public Inspection This PDF is FR Doc. 2026-06515 as it appeared on Public Inspection on
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Published Document: 2026-06515 (91 FR 16893) This document has been published in the Federal Register. Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format.

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain
the following:

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Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  1. 50 CFR Part 217
  2. [Docket No. 260303-0061]
  3. RIN 0648-BN58

AGENCY:

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:

Proposed rule; correction.

SUMMARY:

This document corrects an error in the ADDRESSES section of a proposed rule published on March 18, 2026.

DATES:

Comments and information must be received no later than April 17, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available at: https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NMFS-2025-0801. You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2025-0801, by any of the following methods:

  • Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit https://www.regulations.gov and type NOAA-NMFS-2025-0801 in the Search box. Click on the “Comment” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
  • Mail: Submit written comments to the Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3225.
  • Fax: (301) 713-0376. Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on https://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter “N/A” in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).

A copy of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's application and any supporting documents, as well as a list of the references cited in this document, may be obtained online at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/​action/​incidental-take-authorization-texas-parks-and-wildlife-departments-independent-fisheries.

In case of problems accessing these documents, please call the contact listed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Craig Cockrell, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Need for Correction

In the beginning of the ADDRESSES section of the proposed rule (March 18, 2026, 91 FR 12972), NMFS used an incorrect link to https://www.regulations.gov. The previous link in the proposed rule was https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NMFS-2025-0141 rather than the correct link https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NMFS-2025-0801 to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. The ADDRESSES section has been corrected in this document.

(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.)

Dated: March 31, 2026.

Samuel D. Rauch III,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 2026-06515 Filed 4-2-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-P

Published Document: 2026-06515 (91 FR 16893)

CFR references

50 CFR 217

Named provisions

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities

Classification

Agency
Commerce Department
Published
April 3rd, 2026
Comment period closes
April 17th, 2026 (14 days)
Compliance deadline
April 17th, 2026 (14 days)
Instrument
Consultation
Legal weight
Non-binding
Stage
Draft
Change scope
Minor
Document ID
91 FR 16893 / Docket No. 260303-0061
Docket
Docket No. 260303-0061
Supersedes
2026-05263

Who this affects

Applies to
Government agencies Healthcare providers
Industry sector
1130 Forestry 1141 Commercial Fishing
Activity scope
Marine Mammal Research Fisheries Research
Geographic scope
United States US

Taxonomy

Primary area
Environmental Protection
Operational domain
Compliance
Topics
Wildlife Conservation Fisheries

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