§ 216.255 - Requirements for monitoring and reporting.

(a) The Holder of the Letter of Authorization issued pursuant to §§216.106 and 216.257 for activities described in §216.250(a) is required to conduct the monitoring and reporting measures specified in this section and any additional monitoring measures contained in the Letter of Authorization.

(b) The Holder of the Letter of Authorization is required to cooperate with the National Marine Fisheries Service, and any other Federal, state or local agency authorized to monitor the impacts of the activity on marine mammals. Unless specified otherwise in the Letter of Authorization, the Holder of the Letter of Authorization must notify the Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, or designee, by letter or telephone [phone]), at least 2 weeks prior to any modification to the activity identified in §216.250(a) that has the potential to result in the mortality or Level A or Level B harassment of marine mammals that was not identified and addressed previously.

(c) The Holder of this Authorization must:

(1) Designate qualified on-site marine mammal observers to record the effects of mission launches on marine mammals that inhabit the northern Gulf of Mexico;

(2) Have on-site marine mammal observers approved in advance by the National Marine Fisheries Service to conduct the mitigation, monitoring and reporting activities specified in these regulations and in the Letter of Authorization issued pursuant to §216.106 and §216.257.

(3) Conduct aerial surveys to reduce impacts on protected species. The aerial survey/monitoring team will consist of two experienced marine mammal observers, approved in advance by the Southeast Region, National Marine Fisheries Service. The aircraft will also have a data recorder who would be responsible for relaying the location, the species if possible, the direction of movement, and the number of animals sighted.

(4) Conduct shipboard monitoring to reduce impacts to protected species. Trained marine mammal observers will conduct monitoring from the highest point possible on each mission or support vessel(s). The observer on the vessel must be equipped with optical equipment with sufficient magnification (e.g., 25X power “Big-Eye” binoculars. The marine mammal observation platform must be of sufficient height to provide observers a platform to see a major portion of the safety zone.

(d) The aerial and shipboard monitoring teams will maintain proper lines of communication to avoid communication deficiencies. The observers from the aerial team and operations vessel will have direct communication with the lead scientist aboard the operations vessel.

(e) Pre-mission Monitoring: Approximately 5 hours prior to the mission, or at daybreak, the appropriate vessel(s) would be on-site in the primary test site near the location of the earliest planned mission point. Observers onboard the vessel will assess the suitability of the test site, based on visual observation of marine mammals and overall environmental conditions (visibility, sea state, etc.). This information will be relayed to the lead scientist.

(f) Three Hours Prior to Mission:

(1) Approximately three hours prior to the mission launch, aerial monitoring will commence within the test site to evaluate the test site for environmental suitability. Evaluation of the entire test site would take approximately 1 to 1.5 hours. The aerial monitoring team will begin monitoring the safety zone and buffer zone around the target area.

(2) Shipboard observers will monitor the safety and buffer zone, and the lead scientist will enter all marine mammal sightings, including the time of sighting and the direction of travel, into a marine animal tracking and sighting database.

(g) One to 1.5 Hours Prior to Mission Launch:

(1) Depending upon the mission, aerial and shipboard viewers will be instructed to leave the area and remain outside the safety area. The aerial team will report all marine animals spotted and their directions of travel to the lead scientist onboard the vessel.

(2) The shipboard monitoring team will continue searching the buffer zone for protected species as it leaves the safety zone. The surface vessels will continue to monitor from outside of the safety area until after impact.

(h) Post-mission monitoring:

(1) The vessels will move into the safety zone from outside the safety zone and continue monitoring for at least two hours, concentrating on the area down current of the test site.

(2) The Holder of the Letter of Authorization will closely coordinate mission launches with marine animal stranding networks. Coordination shall include:

(i) Pre-activity notification of a PSW exercise; and

(ii) Post-event surveying of the Eglin AFB shore-line in the vicinity of the PSW exercise.

(3) The monitoring team will document any dead or injured marine mammals and, if practicable, recover and examine any dead animals.

(i) Activities related to the monitoring described in this section may include retention of marine mammals without the need for a separate scientific research permit.

(j) The Holder of the Letter of Authorization must conduct any marine mammal research required under the Letter of Authorization.

(k) Reporting. (1) Unless specified otherwise in the Letter of Authorization, the Holder of the Letter of Authorization must submit an annual report to the Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, no later than 30 days prior to the date of expiration of the Letter of Authorization. This report must contain all information required by these regulations and the Letter of Authorization.

(2) The final comprehensive report on all marine mammal monitoring and research conducted during the period of these regulations must be submitted to the Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service at least 240 days prior to expiration of these regulations or 240 days after the expiration of these regulations if new regulations will not be requested.