Incidental Take Authorization: Oil and Gas Industry Geophysical Survey Activity in the Gulf of America

2026 Final Rule

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as amended, notification is hereby given that NOAA Fisheries promulgates regulations to govern the incidental taking of marine mammals during geophysical survey activity conducted in the Gulf of America, over the course of 5 years. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of Letters of Authorization to survey operators for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframe, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat, as well as requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.

2025 Notice of Receipt

NOAA Fisheries has received a request from the EnerGeo Alliance for the development of regulations governing the taking of marine mammals incidental to geophysical survey activity conducted in the Gulf of America over a period of 5 years. NOAA Fisheries is announcing receipt of EnerGeo’s request.

2024 Final Rule

NOAA Fisheries has reassessed the statutorily mandated findings supporting its January 19, 2021 final rule, “Regulations Governing Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Geophysical Survey Activities in the Gulf of America,” issued pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as the estimates of incidental take of marine mammals anticipated from the activities analyzed for the 2021 final rule were erroneous. NOAA Fisheries has corrected this error and considered and incorporated other newly available and pertinent information relevant to the analyses supporting some of the findings in the 2021 final rule and the taking allowable under the regulations. There are no changes to the specified activities or the specified geographical region in which those activities would be conducted, nor to the original 5-year period of effectiveness. In light of the new information, NOAA Fisheries presents new analyses supporting our affirmance of the negligible impact determinations for all species, and affirms that the existing regulations, which contain mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements, are consistent with the “least practicable adverse impact (LPAI) standard” of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

2021 Final Rule

NOAA Fisheries, upon request from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), issued regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to geophysical survey activities in the U.S. Gulf of America over the course of five years. The 2021 regulations, which allow for the issuance of Letters of Authorization to survey operators for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframe, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species or stocks and their habitat, as well as requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.

Related Resources

Gulf of America Seismic Survey Exposure Estimation Tool (Excel file)
Compute estimated marine mammal exposures based on user-defined seasonal schedule, survey configuration, and location.

Letters of Authorization: Oil and Gas Industry Geophysical Survey Activity in Gulf of America
These letters of authorization allow for the unintentional taking of marine mammals (known as incidental take) during geophysical survey activities.