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Pursuant to Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), upon application from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, plans to propose regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to fisheries surveys and related research activities conducted as part of the Interagency Ecological Program in the San Francisco Estuary, California. The proposed regulations will set forth the permissible methods of taking; means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the affected species or stocks and their habitats and, if applicable, on their availability for taking for subsistence uses (i.e., mitigation); and requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking. Letters of Authorization (LOAs) issued under the regulations would authorize the take of marine mammals incidental to the specified activities for a 5-year period.