Meetings: Marine mammals; acoustic harassment; workshop,

Text

---

Federal Register: July 27, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 143)NoticesPage 40103From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

DOCID:fr27jy98-47

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

I.D. 071498AIncidental 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.

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. 98-19992Filed7-24-98; 8:45 amBILLING CODE 3510-22-F

---