Ice Seals
Ringed, Ribbon, Spotted and Bearded Ice Seals
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Ribbon seal. Photo: Mike Cameron, NOAA's National
Marine Mammal Laboratory
Management
Petitions to List Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
- Petition to List Ribbon Seals
- 60-Day Notice of Intent to Sue, Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace, March 31, 2009
- News Release, December 23, 2008
- 73 FR 79822, December 30, 2008. Notice of 12-Month Finding on a Petition to List the Ribbon Seal as a Threatened or Endangered Species. Listing of the ribbon seal is not warranted at this time.
- Status Review of the Ribbon Seal, December 2008
- 73 FR 16617, March 28, 2008. Announcement of a 90-day finding on a petition to list the ribbon seal as a threatened or endangered species under the ESA. Comment period through May 27, 2008.
- Receipt of Petition Letter, January 2, 2008
- Center for Biological Diversity Petition to List the Ribbon Seal as a Threatened or Endangered Species Under the ESA, December 2007
- Petition to List Ringed, Bearded, and Spotted Seals
- 73 FR 51615, September 4, 2008. Notice of a 90–day finding on a petition to list three ice seal species as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Information and comments must be submitted by November 3, 2008.
- Center for Biological Diversity Petition to List Three Seal Species Under the ESA: Ringed Seal (Pusa Hispida), Bearded Seal (Erignathus Barbatus), and Spotted Seal (Phoca Largha), May 2008
Co-Management
- Agreement between the Ice Seal Committee (ISC) and NMFS for the Co-Management of Alaskan Ice Seal Populations, October 2006
Research
- NMFS Research
- NMML Polar Ecosystems Program
- Ice Seal Abundance Survey, April 2008
- Ice Seal Breeding Ecology Cruise, April 2008
- Field Report from the Oscar Dyson, Ice Seal Research and Satellite Tagging, May 2007
- Ice Seal Operations, April 2006
- Stock Assessment Reports
- Arctic Ice Seals (species studied)
- Incidental Take and Research Permits
- Associated Research
- Alaska Nanuuq Commission Ice Seal Committee (external link)
- Native Village of Kotezbue
- Bearded Ice Seal Satellite Tagging Project (external link)
- Ringed Seal Tagging Project (external link)
- State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game Ice Seal Biological Monitoring (external link)
Development in Beaufort and Chukchi Seas
Spotted seal pup on ice. Photo: NOAA's National
Marine Mammal Laboratory
- 73 FR 46774, August 11, 2008. Notice of an Incidental Harassment Authorization to take marine mammals, by Level-B harassment, incidental to conducting open water shallow hazard and site clearance surveys by ASRC Energy Service in the Chukchi Sea.
- 73 FR 45969, August 7, 2008. Notice that NMFS has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization to PGS Onshore, Inc. to take, by harassment, small numbers of six species of marine mammals incidental to an exploratory 3D marine seismic survey in the Beaufort Sea, Alaska. Effective July 30, 2008, through July 29, 2009.
- Federal district court decision to uphold NOAA's issuance of an incidental harassment authorization to Shell Offshore, Inc., July 2008
- 73 FR 40512, July 15, 2008. Notice of issuance of an IHA to BP Exploration, Inc. to take, by harassment, small numbers of six species of marine mammals incidental to a 3D, ocean bottom cable (OBC) seismic survey in the Liberty Prospect, Beaufort Sea, Alaska during July and August, 2008. Effective July 8, 2008, through August 25, 2008.
- 73 FR 38990, July 8, 2008. Notice of issuance of a letter of authorization to BP Exploration, Inc. to take marine mammals incidental to the production of offshore oil and gas at the Northstar development in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska. Effective from July 7, 2008, through July 6, 2009.
- 73 FR 36044, June 25, 2008. Notice of receipt of an application from Shell Offshore, Inc. and its contractor WesternGeco for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting marine geophysical programs, including deep seismic surveys, on oil and gas lease blocks located on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) waters in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Comment period through July 25, 2008.
- 73 FR 31816, June 4, 2008. Notice of receipt of application from Shell Offshore, Inc. for an Incidental Harassment Authorization to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska. Comment period through July 7, 2008.
- 73 FR 9535, February 21, 2008. Notification of Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHAs) to take marine mammals, by Level-B harassment, incidental to conducting on-ice marine geophysical research and seismic surveys by CGGVeritas (Veritas) and Shell Offshore, Inc. (SOI) in the U.S. Beaufort Sea.
- Shell Offshore, Inc. Open Water Exploration and Appraisal Drilling Program (external link)
- Beaufort Sea Seals (external link)
Strandings
- Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP), February 2009
- Ice Seal Strandings 1982-2004