various sounds emitted from oil and gas operations on the behavior of 

 cetaceans, or to evaluate the impacts resulting from offshore 

 structures and human activity on cetacean populations. A number of 

 cetacean species are listed as endangered or threatened and are 

 protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Therefore, a study 

 on the effects of OCS activites on cetaceans is recommended for making 

 effective management decisions and for developing mitigating measures 

 if needed. 



Pilot Study 



Chambers Consultants and Planners (CCP) was responsible for a pilot 

 study for this project. They developed identification posters and 

 created the first sighting card and interview formats. The sighting 

 cards and interviews were designed to permit computer analysis. An 

 objective of the pilot study was to determine what job categories are 

 expected to provide better results in the interview program because 

 some jobs are better suited to make observations. Due to a low number 

 of responses, this information was never attained. Essentially, the 

 pilot study provided a basis to develop a full scale interview 

 program. As many individuals as possible were interviewed and all data 

 received was analyzed. 



CCP wrote two computer programs. One analyzed the sighting card 

 information, the other, the interview data. Although these programs 

 proved to be useful with a sufficient number of theoretical data 

 points, the collected actual information was not sufficient to yield 

 any significant results. 



Study Area I: Santa Barbara Channel, California 



Perhaps the most significant aspect of this area is that it 

 contains the transition point between two biogeographic coastal 

 provinces. Stretching along the coast to the north from Point 

 Conception to Alaska is a biologically rich cold-temperature province. 

 To the south from Point Conception to the lower third of Baja 

 California in Mexico is a warm-temperature area. The biota of this 

 transition zone includes cold temperature species from the north and 

 tropical species from the south, as well as a large number of endemic 

 species. The importance of Point Conception as a major marine 

 biogeographic boundary is well documented. Several investigators note 

 that this California point lies at a significant biogeographic boundary 

 for many species of fish and invertebrates. In addition, the point is 

 also a significant boundary area for several species of marine mammals 

 and seabirds. The area marks a northern breeding limit for some 

 warm-temperate species and a southern breeding limit for certain 

 northern cold-temperate organisms. 



In general, the large size, high mobility and wide pelagic range of 

 the large whales, (gray, blue, humpback, and fin) have discouraged 



C-4 



