Chapter IX — Marine Mammal Permits 



authorization, and the proposed marine mammal and 

 acoustic monitoring plan all appeared to assume that 

 the pulsed sounds from the airguns would be the only 

 potential source of harassment. That is, they ap- 

 peared to assume that the propulsion systems, genera- 

 tors, and other equipment aboard the cable, seismic 

 source, and related support vessels would have no 

 effect on marine mammals. The Commission recom- 

 mended that, before issuing the requested authoriza- 

 tion, the Service take such steps as necessary to (1) 

 verify that the various vessels involved in the opera- 

 tions are unlikely to have any effect on marine mam- 

 mals; and (2) require that the marine mammal and 

 acoustic monitoring plan be augmented to measure the 

 levels and characteristics of sounds produced by the 

 various vessels and to confirm that those sounds have 

 no effect on marine mammals. 



On 6 July 1998 BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. 

 notified the National Marine Fisheries Service that it 

 would not be conducting the planned seismic surveys 

 in 1998 and that it therefore was withdrawing its 

 application for an incidental harassment authorization. 

 Notice of the withdrawal was published in the Federal 

 Register on 29 July 1998. 



Request from Western Geophysical for Authori- 

 zation to Harass Marine Mammals Incidental to 

 Seismic Surveys in the Southern Beaufort Sea — 



On 15 April 1998 the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service received an application from Western Geo- 

 physical/Western Atlas International of Houston, 

 Texas (Western Geophysical) for authorization to take 

 small numbers of bowhead whales and other marine 

 mammals by harassment incidental to seismic surveys 

 to be conducted in federal and state waters in the 

 south-central Beaufort Sea between 1 July and 20 

 October 1998. Notice of receipt of the application 

 and proposed authorization of the requested harass- 

 ment were published in the Federal Register on 20 

 May 1998. The Commission, in consultation with its 

 Committee of Scientific Advisors, reviewed and on 19 

 June 1998 provided comments to the Service on the 

 application and the marine mammal and acoustic 

 monitoring plan submitted with it. 



In its comments, the Commission noted that the 

 type, time, and location of the planned seismic sur- 

 veys were nearly identical to those of BP Exploration 



(Alaska) Inc. described above. The Commission 

 therefore referred the Service to the recommendations 

 contained in its 5 June 1998 letter regarding the 

 application from BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. 

 Because both companies planned to conduct surveys 

 in the same general area at the same time, the Com- 

 mission recommended that the Service carefully 

 consider the possible cumulative effects, particularly 

 the possibility that the surveys could affect the migra- 

 tion of bowhead whales and the availability of the 

 whales to Alaska Natives for subsistence purposes. 



Comments on the proposed incidental harassment 

 authorization were also provided to the Service by 

 Greenpeace and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commis- 

 sion. All of the comments were summarized and 

 addressed in a notice published in the Federal Register 

 on 29 July 1998 indicating that the requested inciden- 

 tal harassment authorization had been issued. With 

 regard to the Commission's recommendation that steps 

 be taken to detect and avoid possible long-term 

 cumulative effects, the Service noted that it agreed 

 that possible cumulative effects were of concern, but 

 that the actions recommended by the Commission 

 extended beyond the monitoring requirements for 

 Western Geophysical 's 1998 seismic surveys. The 

 Service indicated that, to the extent practicable, it 

 intended to use the peer-review process required by 

 the Marine Mammal Protection Act for small-take 

 authorizations in Arctic waters to address these 

 cumulative impact monitoring concerns in the future. 



The Commission believes that, if seismic surveys 

 are expected to be conducted in a particular area for 

 more than one year or the surveys are likely to lead to 

 additional activities that could have harmful cumula- 

 tive effects, incidental harassment authorization should 

 be requested and provided under section 101(a)(5)(A) 

 of the Act, rather than under section 101(a)(5)(D). 

 The Commission will continue to convey this view to 

 the Service in all cases where long-term cumulative 

 adverse effects seem possible. 



Request for Authorization to Harass Small Num- 

 bers of Pinnipeds Incidental to the Removal of 

 Storage Tanks at the Cape Flattery Light Station — 



On 27 April 1998 the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service received a request from the Coast Guard for 

 authorization to take small numbers of California sea 



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