[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 143 (Monday, July 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 40103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-19992]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 071498A]
Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Acoustic Harassment
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of workshop on acoustic criteria.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it will convene a panel of independent
experts in marine acoustics to discuss various technical aspects of the
problem of marine mammals and anthropogenic noise. While the
proceedings are open to the general public for observation, the
public's ability to interact with the expert panel will be limited to
specified times during the proceedings.
DATES: The workshop will be held September 9 through September 11,
1998, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day.
ADDRESSES: The Workshop will be held at the Silver Spring Metro Center
Building 4, NOAA Science Center, 1301 East-West Highway, Silver Spring,
MD.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roger Gentry or Kenneth R.
Hollingshead, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, telephone (301) 713-
2055.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Anthropogenic sounds in the marine
environment are increasing over the span of decades, with possible
adverse impacts on the marine biota, in particular marine mammals.
These sounds come from shipping, military (and civilian) explosives,
seismic profiling (both oil and gas exploration and for seismic/
geological hazards), government, commercial, and private sonars,
dredging, drilling and pile driving, military activities, use of
acoustic deterrence, and some scientific research. Some sounds may be
loud enough to cause physical injury to marine mammals. The Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) defines ``take'' to include ``harass.''
Harassment includes a disturbance or a disruption of behavioral
patterns, including migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding,
or sheltering (16 U.S.C. 1362(18)). While it is clear that certain
takings (e.g., those that cause serious injury or mortality or result
in large scale displacements of a marine mammal population) require an
authorization under the MMPA (unless exempted), it is less clear what
level of anthropogenic sounds might cause behavioral modification or
affect hearing sufficient to require authorizations under the MMPA and
the Endangered Species Act. Additionally, at this time scientific data
demonstrating that certain sounds result in the harassment of marine
mammals are lacking, and it is not known to what extent NMFS should
apply data from surrogate species to marine mammals.
The workshop will consist of experts in the fields of animal
bioacoustics, underwater sound, and animal behavior. The workshop will
consider whether different criteria are needed for explosions, pulsed
sound, intermittent sound, and continuous sound, the preferred units in
which to report these levels, and other approaches as alternatives to
proximity for estimating the effects of sound on marine mammals.
Dated: July 21, 1998.
Patricia A. Montanio,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-19992 Filed 7-24-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
