[Federal Register: April 23, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 78)]
[Notices]
[Page 19974-19975]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23ap03-22]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 041703B]
Marine Mammals; File No. 981-1707
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Receipt of application and notice of availability of draft
environmental assessment.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr. Peter L. Tyack, Biology
Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole,
Massachusetts, 02543, has applied in due form for a permit to take
various cetacean species for purposes of scientific research. A draft
environmental assessment has been prepared on the proposed research and
is available for comment.
DATES: Written or telefaxed comments must be received on or before May
23, 2003.
ADDRESSES: The application, draft environmental assessment, and related
documents are available for review upon written request, by downloading
from the internet, or by appointment in the following
office(s):Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of
Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver
Spring, MD 20910; phone (301)713-2289; fax (301)713-0376;
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res;
Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-
2298; phone (978)281-9200; fax (978)281-9371; and
Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive North, St.
Petersburg, FL 33702-2432; phone (727)570-5301; fax (727)570-5320.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Hubard, Tammy Adams, or Steve
Leathery, (301)713-2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is requested under the
authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended
(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the Regulations Governing the Taking
and Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216), the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the
regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of
endangered and threatened species (50 CFR 222-226).The applicant
requests authorization for a five year permit to take various cetacean
species, including endangered whales, in the North Atlantic (including
the Gulf of Mexico) and Mediterranean Sea for scientific purposes
related to the biology, foraging ecology, communication, and behavior
of these animals. The research focuses on cetacean responses to
anthropogenic sounds in the marine environment. Takes would include
close approach, suction-cup tagging, and playbacks of high frequency
whale-finding sonar, airgun sounds, and sperm whale codas. The permit
application covers three research projects which use as their primary
research method non-intrusive, suction-cup tagging with an advanced
digital sound recording tag (DTAG). The DTAG can record what an animal
hears and measure vocal, behavioral, and physiological responses to
sound. Small fragments of sloughed skin found in the suction-cup of the
DTAG after retrieval will be exported from field sites and imported for
genetic analyses. The applicant seeks to test a whale-finding
[[Page 19975]]
sonar developed by a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) undersea
research lab in Italy. The sonar uses a non-directional sound source
and a sophisticated directional receiver. This permit application
covers research to test how well this whale finder detects whales in
the Mediterranean Sea.
Project 1 will involve applying DTAGs to a variety of whale and
dolphin species to study the baseline behavior of animals tagged
throughout the North Atlantic. The endangered species that the
applicant plans to tag are: humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae), sei
(Balaenoptera borealis), fin (Balaenoptera physalus), blue
(Balaenoptera musculus), and sperm (Physeter macrocephalus) whales.
There are three main goals of Project 1: (1) to obtain continuous
sampling of marine mammal vocal and motor behavior, (2) to determine
correction factors that can be applied to visual sighting data to
better estimate population and stock abundance, and (3) to serve as a
control group for Projects 2 and 3, described below.
The goals of Project 2 are: (1) To validate the effectiveness of a
high-frequency whale-finding sonar developed by a NATO research lab to
detect marine mammals based on species, size, and orientation of the
animal in the water, and (2) to determine what sound levels heard by an
animal may cause a change in its behavior. Project 2 research will be
conducted in the Mediterranean Sea and will focus on sperm whales,
however, other species of whales such as fin and minke (Balaenoptera
acustostrata) and dolphin species will also be tagged. For Project 2,
DTAG-tagged animals will be exposed to sounds at received levels of
120-160 dB re 1 [mu]Pa rms for testing short sounds of a whale-finding
sonar. Pre-recorded sperm whale vocalizations (codas) will also be
transmitted to serve as control playbacks. Because monitoring
techniques for loud operations such as rig removal and ship shock
trials have typically consisted of visual observations and passive
acoustic listening, and these methods are not 100 percent effective
(e.g., at night, during poor weather, when animals are silent), there
is a need for a more effective tool to detect the presence of marine
mammals in the vicinity of such loud noises. This need for a detection
tool has led to the development of low power, mid or high frequency
sonars that can detect marine mammals within a range of 1-2 km. If
found to be effective this whale-finding sonar could be used to search
an area for marine mammals, similar to the sonar used to locate schools
of fish. If animals are detected in the vicinity of a potentially
harmful operation, such as an underwater explosion, the event could be
halted until the animals are safely out of range.
In Project 3, the applicant will study the responses of tagged
sperm whales to short impulses from airgun arrays in the Gulf of
Mexico. Technological advances in the oil and gas industry are allowing
exploration and drilling in much deeper waters than in the past, which
may have an increased impact on deep diving marine mammals such as
sperm whales. Most projections predict strong expansion of industry
activities into deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico where sperm whales
reside. The seismic industry uses arrays of airguns to direct sound
energy downwards into geological strata below the seafloor. Because
sperm whales spend most of their time below the surface it is not known
how they react to the sounds of the seismic surveying. The applicant
proposes to use the DTAG to study how likely sperm whales are to
silence, move away, or show other disruption of behavior when they are
exposed to impulse sounds from an airgun array versus natural control
sounds. Animals will be exposed to airgun sounds at received levels no
higher than 180 dB re 1 [mu]Pa rms. Sperm whale codas will serve as the
control playbacks. This project will involve visual observations of
surfacing sperm whales, passive acoustic tracking of diving sperm
whales, and tagging sperm whales with DTAGs. Written comments or
requests for a public hearing on this application should be mailed to
the Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, F/PR1, Office
of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705,
Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals requesting a hearing should
set forth the specific reasons why a hearing on this particular request
would be appropriate.
Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301) 713-0376,
provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and
postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period. Please
note that comments will not be accepted by e-mail or by other
electronic media.
Concurrent with the publication of this notice in the Federal
Register, NMFS is forwarding copies of this application and the draft
environmental assessment to the Marine Mammal Commission and its
Committee of Scientific Advisors.
Dated: April 18,2003.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-10072 Filed 4-22-03; 8:45 am]
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