2024-23259. Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Marine Site Characterization Surveys Off Rhode Island and Massachusetts  

  • Table 1—Species Likely Impacted by the Specified Activities1

    Common name Scientific name Stock ESA/ MMPA status; strategic (Y/N) 2 Stock abundance (CV, N min , most recent abundance survey) 3 PBR Annual M/SI 4
    Order Cetartiodactyla—Cetacea—Superfamily Mysticeti (baleen whales)
    N Atlantic Right Whale Eubalaena glacialis Western Atlantic E, D, Y 340 (0, 337, 2021) 5 0.7 27.2
    Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Gulf of Maine -, -, N 1,396 (0, 1380, 2016) 22 12.15
    Fin Whale Balaenoptera physalus Western North Atlantic E, D, Y 6,802 (0.24, 5,573, 2021) 11 2.05
    Sei Whale Balaenoptera borealis Nova Scotia E, D, Y 6,292 (1.02, 3,098, 2021) 6.2 0.6
    Minke Whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata Canadian Eastern Coastal -, -, N 21,968 (0.31, 17,002, 2021) 170 9.4
    Order Cetartiodactyla—Cetacea—Superfamily Odontoceti (toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises)
    Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus North Atlantic E, D, Y 5,895 (0.29, 4,639, 2021) 9.28 0.2
    Long-Finned Pilot Whale 6 Globicephala melas Western North Atlantic -, -, N 39,215 (0.30, 30,627, 2021) 306 5.7
    Striped Dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba Western North Atlantic -, -, N 48,274 (0.29, 38,040, 2021) 529 0
    Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin Lagenorhynchus acutus Western North Atlantic -, -, N 93,233 (0.71, 54,443, 2021) 544 28
    Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus Western North Atlantic Offshore -, -, N 64,587 (0.24, 52,801, 2021) 7 507 28
    Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis Western North Atlantic -, -, N 93,100 (0.56, 59,897, 2021) 1,452 414
    Atlantic Spotted Dolphin Stenella frontalis Western North Atlantic -, -, N 31,506 (0.28, 25,042, 2021) 250 0
    Risso's Dolphin Grampus griseus Western North Atlantic -, -, N 44,067 (0.19, 30,662, 2021) 307 18
    White-Beaked Dolphin Lagenorhynchus albirostris Western North Atlantic -, -, N 536,016 (0.31, 415,344, 2016) 4,153 0
    Harbor Porpoise Phocoena phocoena Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy -, -, N 85,765 (0.53, 56,420, 2021) 649 145
    Order Carnivora—Superfamily Pinnipedia
    Harbor Seal Phoca vitulina Western North Atlantic -, -, N 61,336 (0.08, 57,637, 2018) 1,729 339
    Gray Seal 8 Halichoerus grypus Western North Atlantic -, -, N 27,911 (0.20, 23,624, 2021) 1,512 4,570
    1  Information on the classification of marine mammal species can be found on the web page for The Society for Marine Mammalogy's Committee on Taxonomy ( https://marinemammalscience.org/​science-and-publications/​list-marine-mammal-species-subspecies).
    2  ESA status: Endangered (E), Threatened (T)/MMPA status: Depleted (D). A dash (-) indicates that the species is not listed under the ESA or designated as depleted under the MMPA. Under the MMPA, a strategic stock is one for which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds PBR or which is determined to be declining and likely to be listed under the ESA within the foreseeable future. Any species or stock listed under the ESA is automatically designated under the MMPA as depleted and as a strategic stock.
    3  NMFS marine mammal stock assessment reports online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/​national/​marine-mammal-protection/​marine-mammal-stock-assessment-reports-region. CV is coefficient of variation; N min is the minimum estimate of stock abundance.
    4  These values, found in NMFS's SARs, represent annual levels of human-caused mortality plus serious injury from all sources combined ( e.g., commercial fisheries, ship strike). Annual mortality and serious injury (M/SI) often cannot be determined precisely and is in some cases presented as a minimum value or range. A CV associated with estimated mortality due to commercial fisheries is presented in some cases.
    5  The current SAR includes an estimated population (N best 340) based on sighting history through December 2021 (NMFS, 2024). In October 2023, NMFS released a technical report identifying that the NARW population size based on sighting history through 2022 was 356 whales, with a 95 percent credible interval ranging from 346 to 363 (Linden, 2023). Total annual average observed NARW mortality during the period 2017-2021 was 7.1 animals and annual average observed fishery mortality was 4.6 animals. Numbers presented in this table (27.2 total mortality and 17.6 fishery mortality) are 2016-2020 estimated annual means, accounting for undetected mortality and serious injury.
    6  Key uncertainties exist in the population size estimate for this species, including uncertain separation between short-finned and long-finned pilot whales, small negative bias due to lack of abundance estimate in the region between US and the Newfoundland/Labrador survey area, and uncertainty due to unknown precision and accuracy of the availability bias correction factor that was applied.
    7  Estimates may include sightings of the coastal form.
    8  NMFS' stock abundance estimate (and associated PBR value) applies to the U.S. population only. Total stock abundance (including animals in Canada) is approximately 394,311. The annual M/SI value given is for the total stock.

    Marine Mammal Hearing

    Hearing is the most important sensory modality for marine mammals underwater, and exposure to anthropogenic sound can have deleterious effects. To appropriately assess the potential effects of exposure to sound, it is necessary to understand the frequency ranges marine mammals are able to hear. Not all marine mammal species have equal hearing capabilities ( e.g., Richardson et al. 1995; Wartzok and Ketten, 1999; Au and Hastings, 2008). To reflect this, Southall et al. (2007, 2019) recommended that marine mammals be divided into hearing groups based on directly measured (behavioral or auditory evoked potential techniques) or estimated hearing ranges (behavioral response data, anatomical modeling, etc.). Note that no direct measurements of hearing ability have been successfully completed for mysticetes ( i.e., low-frequency cetaceans). Subsequently, NMFS (2018) described generalized hearing ranges for these marine mammal hearing groups. Generalized hearing ranges were chosen based on the approximately 65-decibel (dB) threshold from the normalized composite audiograms, with the exception for lower limits for low-frequency cetaceans where the lower bound was deemed to be biologically implausible and the lower bound from Southall et al. (2007) retained. Marine mammal hearing groups and their associated hearing ranges are provided in table 2.

    Table 2—Marine Mammal Hearing Groups

    [NMFS, 2018]

    Hearing group Generalized hearing range *
    Low-frequency (LF) cetaceans(baleen whales) 7 Hz to 35 kHz.
    Mid-frequency (MF) cetaceans(dolphins, toothed whales, beaked whales, bottlenose whales) 150 Hz to 160 kHz.
    High-frequency (HF) cetaceans(true porpoises, Kogia, river dolphins, Cephalorhynchid, Lagenorhynchus cruciger & L. australis) 275 Hz to 160 kHz.
    ( print page 81464)
    Phocid pinnipeds (PW) (underwater)(true seals) 50 Hz to 86 kHz.
    Otariid pinnipeds (OW) (underwater)(sea lions and fur seals) 60 Hz to 39 kHz.
    * Represents the generalized hearing range for the entire group as a composite ( i.e., all species within the group), where individual species' hearing ranges are typically not as broad. Generalized hearing range chosen based on ~65-dB threshold from normalized composite audiogram, with the exception for lower limits for LF cetaceans (Southall et al. 2007) and PW pinniped (approximation).

    For more detail concerning these groups and associated frequency ranges, please see NMFS (2018) for a review of available information.

    Potential Effects of Specified Activities on Marine Mammals and Their Habitat

    A description of the potential effects of the specified activity on marine mammals and their habitat for the activities for which take is proposed here may be found in the Federal Register notice of the proposed IHA for the initial authorization proposed (87 FR 52515, August 26, 2022). At present, there is no new information on potential effects that would change our analysis.

    Estimated Take of Marine Mammals

    This section provides an estimate of the number of incidental takes authorized through the IHA, which will inform NMFS' consideration of “small numbers,” the negligible impact determinations, and impacts on subsistence uses.

    Harassment is the only type of take expected to result from these activities. Except with respect to certain activities not pertinent here, section 3(18) of the MMPA defines “harassment” as any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance, which (i) has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild (Level A harassment); or (ii) has the potential to disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering (Level B harassment).

    Authorized takes will be by Level B harassment only, in the form of disruption of behavioral patterns for individual marine mammals resulting from exposure to certain HRG sources. Based on the nature of the activity and the anticipated effectiveness of the mitigation measures ( i.e., shutdown measures, vessel strike avoidance procedures) discussed in detail below in the Mitigation section, Level A harassment is neither anticipated nor authorized.

    As described previously, no serious injury or mortality is anticipated or authorized for this activity. Below we describe how the take numbers are estimated.

    For acoustic impacts, generally speaking, we estimate take by considering: (1) acoustic thresholds above which NMFS believes the best available science indicates marine mammals will likely be behaviorally harassed or incur some degree of permanent hearing impairment; (2) the area or volume of water that will be ensonified above these levels in a day; (3) the density or occurrence of marine mammals within these ensonified areas; and, (4) the number of days of activities. We note that while these factors can contribute to a basic calculation to provide an initial prediction of potential takes, additional information that can qualitatively inform take estimates is also sometimes available ( e.g., previous monitoring results or average group size). Below, we describe the factors considered here in more detail and present the take estimates.

    Acoustic Thresholds

    NMFS recommends the use of acoustic thresholds that identify the received level of underwater sound above which exposed marine mammals would be reasonably expected to be behaviorally harassed (equated to Level B harassment) or to incur permanent threshold shift (PTS) of some degree (equated to Level A harassment).

    Level B Harassment —Though significantly driven by received level, the onset of behavioral disturbance from anthropogenic noise exposure is also informed to varying degrees by other factors related to the source or exposure context ( e.g., frequency, predictability, duty cycle, duration of the exposure, signal-to-noise ratio, distance to the source), the environment ( e.g., bathymetry, other noises in the area, predators in the area), and the receiving animals (hearing, motivation, experience, demography, life stage, depth) and can be difficult to predict ( e.g., Southall et al. 2007, 2021; Ellison et al. 2012). Based on what the available science indicates and the practical need to use a threshold based on a metric that is both predictable and measurable for most activities, NMFS typically uses a generalized acoustic threshold based on received level to estimate the onset of behavioral harassment. NMFS generally predicts that marine mammals are likely to be behaviorally harassed in a manner considered to be Level B harassment when exposed to underwater anthropogenic noise above root-mean-squared pressure received levels (RMS SPL) of 120 dB (referenced to 1 micropascal (re 1 μPa)) for continuous ( e.g., vibratory pile driving, drilling) and above RMS SPL 160 dB re 1 μPa for non-explosive impulsive ( e.g., seismic airguns) or intermittent ( e.g., scientific sonar) sources. Generally speaking, Level B harassment take estimates based on these behavioral harassment thresholds are expected to include any likely takes by temporary threshold shift (TTS) as, in most cases, the likelihood of TTS occurs at distances from the source less than those at which behavioral harassment is likely. TTS of a sufficient degree can manifest as behavioral harassment, as reduced hearing sensitivity and the potential reduced opportunities to detect important signals (conspecific communication, predators, prey) may result in changes in behavior patterns that would not otherwise occur.

    Bay State Wind's activity includes the use of impulsive ( i.e., boomers and sparkers) and non-impulsive ( i.e., CHIRP SBPs) sources, and therefore the RMS SPL thresholds of 160 dB re 1 μPa is applicable.

    Level A harassment —NMFS' Technical Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing (Version 2.0; Technical Guidance, 2018) identifies dual criteria to assess auditory injury (Level A harassment) to five different marine mammal groups (based on hearing sensitivity) as a result of exposure to noise from two different types of sources (impulsive or non-impulsive).

    These thresholds are provided in the table below. The references, analysis, ( print page 81465) and methodology used in the development of the thresholds are described in NMFS' 2018 Technical Guidance, which may be accessed at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/​national/​marine-mammal-protection/​marine-mammal-acoustic-technical-guidance.

    On May 3, 2024, NMFS published (89 FR 36762) and solicited public comment on its draft Updated Technical Guidance, which includes updated thresholds and weighting functions to inform auditory injury estimates, and is intended to replace the 2018 Technical Guidance referenced above, once finalized. The public comment period ended on June 17, 2024, and although the Updated Technical Guidance is not final, we expect the Updated Technical Guidance to represent the best available science once it is.

    Bay State Wind's HRG surveys include the use of impulsive ( i.e., boomers and sparkers) and non-impulsive ( i.e., CHIRP SBPs). However, as discussed above, NMFS has concluded that Level A harassment is not a reasonably likely outcome for marine mammals exposed to noise from the sources for use here, and the potential for Level A harassment is not evaluated further in this document. The pending update to the Technical Guidance would not change NMFS' determination regarding the likelihood of take by Level A harassment. Please see Bay State Wind's application (section 1.4) for details of a quantitative exposure analysis exercise, ( i.e., calculated Level A harassment isopleths and estimated Level A harassment exposures). No take by Level A harassment is anticipated or authorized by NMFS.

    Table 3—Thresholds Identifying the Onset of Permanent Threshold Shift

    Hearing group PTS onset acoustic thresholds* (received level)
    Impulsive Non-impulsive
    Low-Frequency (LF) Cetaceans Cell 1: Lpk,flat : 219 dB; LE, LF,24h : 183 dB Cell 2:LE, LF,24h : 199 dB.
    Mid-Frequency (MF) Cetaceans Cell 3:Lpk,flat : 230 dB; LE, MF,24h : 185 dB Cell 4:LE, MF,24h : 198 dB.
    High-Frequency (HF) Cetaceans Cell 5:Lpk,flat : 202 dB; LE, HF,24h : 155 dB Cell 6:LE, HF,24h : 173 dB.
    Phocid Pinnipeds (PW) (Underwater) Cell 7:Lpk,flat : 218 dB; LE, PW,24h : 185 dB Cell 8:LE, PW,24h : 201 dB.
    Otariid Pinnipeds (OW) (Underwater) Cell 9:Lpk,flat : 232 dB; LE, OW,24h : 203 dB Cell 10:LE, OW,24h : 219 dB.
    * Dual metric acoustic thresholds for impulsive sounds: Use whichever results in the largest isopleth for calculating PTS onset. If a non-impulsive sound has the potential of exceeding the peak sound pressure level thresholds associated with impulsive sounds, these thresholds should also be considered.
    Note: Peak sound pressure ( Lpk ) has a reference value of 1 µPa, and cumulative sound exposure level ( LE ) has a reference value of 1µPa2 s. In this table, thresholds are abbreviated to reflect American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards (American National Standards Institute, 2013). However, peak sound pressure is defined by ANSI as incorporating frequency weighting, which is not the intent for this Technical Guidance. Hence, the subscript “flat” is being included to indicate peak sound pressure should be flat weighted or unweighted within the generalized hearing range. The subscript associated with cumulative sound exposure level thresholds indicates the designated marine mammal auditory weighting function (LF, MF, and HF cetaceans, and PW and OW pinnipeds) and that the recommended accumulation period is 24 hours. The cumulative sound exposure level thresholds could be exceeded in a multitude of ways ( i.e., varying exposure levels and durations, duty cycle). When possible, it is valuable for action proponents to indicate the conditions under which these acoustic thresholds will be exceeded.

    Ensonified Area

    Here, we describe operational and environmental parameters of the activity that are used in estimating the area ensonified above the acoustic thresholds, including source levels and transmission loss coefficient.

    NMFS has developed a user-friendly methodology for determining the rms sound pressure level at the 160-dB isopleth for the purpose of estimating the extent of Level B harassment isopleths associated with HRG survey equipment (NMFS, 2020). This methodology incorporates frequency and some directionality to refine estimated ensonified zones. Bay State Wind used NMFS's methodology, using the source level and operation mode of the equipment planned for use during the survey, to estimate the maximum ensonified area over a 24-hour period, also referred to as the harassment area (table 4). Potential takes by Level B harassment are estimated within the ensonified area ( i.e., harassment area) as an SPL exceeding 160 dB re 1 µPa for impulsive sources ( e.g., sparkers, boomers) within an average day of activity.

    The harassment zone is a representation of the maximum extent of the ensonified area around a sound source over a 24-hour period. The harassment zone was calculated for mobile sound sources per the following formula:

    Harassment Zone = (Distance/day × 2 r) + π r2

    where r is the linear distance from the source to the isopleth for Level A or Level B thresholds and day = 1 ( i.e., 24 hours).

    The estimated potential daily active survey distance of 70 km was used as the estimated areal coverage over a 24-hour period. This distance accounts for the vessel traveling at roughly 4 knots (kn) (2.1 m/second) and only for periods during which survey equipment that may result in take of marine mammals is in operation. A vessel traveling 4 kn (2.1 m/second) can cover approximately 110 km per day; however, based on data from 2017, 2018, and 2019 surveys, survey coverage over a 24-hour period is closer to 70 km per day. For daylight only vessels, the distance is reduced to 35 km per day; however, to maintain the potential for 24-hour surveys, the corresponding Level B harassment zones provided in table 4 were calculated for each source category based on the Level B threshold distances in table 3 with a 24-hour (70 km) operational period.

    NMFS considers the data provided by Crocker and Fratantonio (2016) to represent the best available information on source levels associated with HRG equipment and, therefore, recommends that source levels provided by Crocker and Fratantonio (2016) be incorporated in the method described above to estimate isopleth distances to harassment thresholds. In cases when the source level for a specific type of HRG equipment is not provided in Crocker and Fratantonio (2016), NMFS recommends that either the source levels provided by the manufacturer be used, or, in instances where source levels provided by the manufacturer are unavailable or unreliable, a proxy from Crocker and Fratantonio (2016) be used instead. Table 2 shows the HRG equipment types that may be used during the surveys and the source levels associated with those HRG equipment types. ( print page 81466)

    Based upon modeling results, of the HRG survey equipment planned for use by Bay State Wind that has the potential to result in Level B harassment of marine mammals, the Applied Acoustics Dura-Spark UHD and GeoMarine Geo-Source sparkers would produce the largest Level B harassment isopleth (141 m) or Harassment Zone. Estimated distances to Level B harassment isopleths for all sources evaluated here, including the sparkers, are provided in table 4. Although Bay State Wind does not expect to use sparker sources on all planned survey days, Bay State Wind assumes for purposes of analysis that the sparker would be used on all survey days. This is a conservative approach, as the actual sources used on individual survey days may produce smaller harassment distances.

    Table 4—Distance to Level B Harassment Thresholds

    [160 dB rms]

    Source Distance to Level B harassment threshold (m)
    Boomers 76
    Sparkers 141

    Marine Mammal Occurrence

    In this section we provide information about the occurrence of marine mammals, including density or other relevant information which will inform the take calculations.

    Habitat based density models produced by the Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Laboratory (Roberts et al. 2016, 2023) represent the best available information regarding marine mammal densities in the Lease Area and potential ECRs. The density data presented by Roberts et al. (2016, 2023) incorporate aerial and shipboard line-transect data from NMFS and other organizations and incorporate data from 8 physiographic and 16 dynamic oceanographic and biological covariates, and control for the influence of sea state, group size, availability bias, and perception bias on the probability of making a sighting. These density models were originally developed for all cetacean taxa in the U.S. Atlantic (Roberts et al. 2016). In subsequent years, certain models have been updated based on additional data as well as certain methodological improvements. More information is available online at https://seamap.env.duke.edu/​models/​Duke/​EC. Marine mammal density estimates in the Lease Area and potential ECRs (animals/km2 ) were obtained using the most recent model results for all taxa (Roberts et al. 2023). The updated models incorporate sighting data, including sightings from NOAA's Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) surveys.

    For exposure analysis, density data from Roberts et al. (2023) were mapped using a geographic information system (GIS). Density grid cells that included any portion of the Lease Area and potential ECRs were selected for all survey months (see figure 4 of Bay State Wind's application). The densities for each species as reported by Roberts et al. (2023) for each of the Lease Area and ECR were averaged by month; those values were then used to calculate the mean annual density for each species within the Lease Area and potential ECRs. Estimated mean monthly and annual densities (animals per km2 ) of all marine mammal species that may be taken by the survey are shown in table 6 of Bay State Wind's application. Please see table 5 for density values used in the exposure estimation process.

    Due to limited data availability and difficulties identifying individuals to species level during visual surveys, individual densities are not able to be provided for all species and they are instead grouped into “guilds” (Roberts et al. 2023). These guilds include pilot whales, common bottlenose dolphins, and seals.

    Long- and short-finned pilot whales are difficult to distinguish during shipboard surveys so individual habitat models were not able to be developed. However, as discussed in section 4.2.3 of Bay State Wind's application, all pilot whales in the Lease Area and potential ECRs are assumed to be long-finned pilot whales, so the densities and subsequent takes would apply only to this species.

    The density models do not distinguish between common bottlenose dolphin stocks due to limited data regarding distributions of these stocks. As discussed in section 4.2.7 of Bay State Wind's application, only the western North Atlantic offshore stock is expected to occur in the Lease Area and potential ECRs. Therefore, the densities in table 5 and subsequent take calculations would only apply to this stock of bottlenose dolphins.

    Gray seals and harbor seals are reasonably identifiable during shipboard visual surveys; therefore, it is expected that some sightings will be assigned to species rather than to the generalized seal guild. Additionally, seals tend to occur in very small numbers when away from haul out areas; therefore, sighting events are not likely to constitute large numbers of animals. For these reasons, the seal guild density was split evenly between both gray and harbor seal species.

    Table 5—Average Annual Marine Mammal Density Estimates

    Species Average annual density (km2 )
    Low-frequency Cetaceans
    Fin whale 0.0022
    Sei whale 0.0006
    Minke whale 0.0056
    Humpback whale 0.0014
    North Atlantic right whale 0.0022
    Mid-frequency cetaceans
    Sperm whale 0.0002
    Atlantic white-sided dolphin 0.0143
    Atlantic spotted dolphin 0.0006
    Common bottlenose dolphin (Offshore) 0.0093
    Long-finned pilot whale 0.0016
    Risso's dolphin 0.0006
    Common dolphin 0.0846
    Striped dolphin 0.0000
    White-beaked dolphin 0.0000
    High-frequency Cetaceans
    Harbor porpoise 0.0423
    Pinnipeds1
    Gray seal 0.0845
    Harbor seal 0.0845
    1  Seal species are not separated in the Roberts (2022) data therefore densities were evenly split between the two species expected to occur in the Lease Area and potential ECRs.
    ( print page 81467)

    Take Estimation

    Here we describe how the information provided above is synthesized to produce a quantitative estimate of the take that is reasonably likely to occur and is authorized.

    Level B harassment events were estimated by multiplying the average annual density of each species within the Lease Area and potential ECRs (table 5) by the largest harassment zone (141 m; table 4). That result was then multiplied by the number of survey days in that Lease Area or ECR (350 survey days), and rounded to the nearest whole number to arrive at estimated take. This final number equals the instances of take for the entire operational period. It was assumed the sparker systems were operating all 350 survey days as it is the sound source expected to produce the largest harassment zone. A summary of this method is illustrated in the following formula with the resulting take of marine mammals is shown below in table 6:

    Estimated take = Species Density × Harassment Zone × # of survey days

    Table 6—Total Estimated and Requested Take Numbers

    [By Level B harassment only]

    Species Abundance Estimated Level B takes Requested Level B takes Max percent population
    Low-frequency Cetaceans:
    Fin whale 6,802 15 15 0.22
    Sei whale 6,292 4 4 0.06
    Minke whale 21,968 39 39 0.18
    Humpback whale 1,396 10 10 0.72
    North Atlantic right whale 340 15 15 4.41
    Mid-frequency Cetaceans:
    Sperm whale 5,895 2 2 0.03
    Atlantic white-sided dolphin 93,233 99 99 0.11
    Atlantic spotted dolphin 31,506 4 4 0.01
    Common bottlenose dolphin (offshore stock) 64,587 65 65 0.10
    Long-finned pilot whale 39,215 11 11 0.03
    Risso's dolphin 44,067 4 4 (14) 0.03
    Common dolphin 93,100 586 586 (1,485) 1.60
    Striped dolphin 48,274 0 0 (46) 0.10
    White-beaked dolphin 536,016 0 0 (12) 0.00
    High-frequency Cetaceans:
    Harbor porpoise 85,765 293 293 0.34
    Pinnipeds:
    Seals:
    Gray seal 27,911 586 586 2.10
    Harbor seal 61,336 586 586 0.96

Document Information

Effective Date:
10/6/2024
Published:
10/08/2024
Department:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
Notice; issuance of an incidental harassment authorization.
Document Number:
2024-23259
Dates:
The authorization is effective from October 6, 2024, to October 5, 2025.
Pages:
81458-81473 (16 pages)
Docket Numbers:
RTID 0648-XE296
PDF File:
2024-23259.pdf