(a) Regulations in this subpart apply only to the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) and those persons it authorizes or funds to conduct activities on its behalf, including the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), for the taking of marine mammals that occurs in the areas outlined in paragraph (b) of this section and that occurs incidental to research survey program operations.

(b) The taking of marine mammals by AFSC may be authorized in a Letter of Authorization (LOA) only if it occurs within the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea, or is conducted by the IPHC in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, Gulf of Alaska, or off the U.S. West Coast.