Chapter VII — OCS Development 



of the few marine mammal programs that has 

 attempted to identify distribution patterns and 

 environmental factors affecting distribution and 

 behavior of marine mammals as well as the species 

 present and their abundance; 

 the program has documented that there is both high 

 species diversity and large numbers of marine 

 mammals in the northern Gulf, particularly in 

 offshore pelagic areas; 



the distribution of most species, including endan- 

 gered sperm whales, appears to be associated with 

 cold water rings that produce upwellings and have 

 high primary and secondary productivity; and 

 the cold water rings can be tracked by satellite, 

 which will allow future marine mammal surveys to 

 be designed so that shiptime and other costs can be 

 minimized. 



more than 100 exploration and development wells are 

 drilled every year. In addition, an average of more 

 than 1,000 boat trips and 2,000 helicopter trips are 

 being made every day to transport personnel and 

 otherwise service drilling rigs. It also was pointed out 

 that, based on observations of similar activities in 

 Alaska and California, it is likely that such activities 

 have had, and may be having, at least short-term 

 effects on the distribution and behavior of some 

 marine mammal species. It also is possible that some 

 or all of the potentially affected species have become 

 accustomed to the activities and no longer are affected 

 by them. However, nothing has been done since the 

 Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed in 1972 to 

 document whether oil and gas exploration and devel- 

 opment in the northern Gulf have had any long-term 

 effects on the resident marine mammal species. 



During the review of information regarding the 

 effects of seismic surveys and explosive removal of 

 drilling platforms, it was pointed out that the Service's 

 enviroimiental impact statement indicates that current- 

 ly an average of three or four seismic surveys are 

 conducted in the northern Gulf every day and that 



As noted in Chapter VI, the Minerals Management 

 Service is planning to hold a workshop in June 1999 

 to better determine what can be done to resolve these 

 uncertainties. The Commission, in consultation with 

 its Committee of Scientific Advisors, will offer its 

 assistance to help ensure the success of the workshop. 



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