Biological Opinions by the NOAA Fisheries' Office of Protected Resources
Find biological opinions issued by our national Office of Protected Resources.
NOAA Fisheries helps federal agencies comply with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act whose purpose is to conserve ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend. NOAA Fisheries' Office of Protected Resources issues biological opinions to document our opinions on how federal agencies’ actions affect ESA-listed species and designated critical habitat.
How to Locate a Consultation
Biological opinions issued within the last five years are linked below by action agency. Opinions for pesticide consultations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are listed separately, on our Pesticide Consultations page.
The Environmental Consultation System (ECO) is available to search ESA Section 7 consultations from 2017 to present.
Biological opinions issued since 2010 may also be found in the NOAA library repository.
If you are looking for a biological opinion from an ESA Section 7 consultation completed before 2019 that is not available in ECO, you may send an email with specific details on your request to NMFS.Historic.Consultations@noaa.gov.
Biological opinions are issued by our regional offices as well.
Coast Guard
Project Title | ECO/PCTS Reference Number | DOI Number / NOAA Repository Link | Signature Date |
Biological and Conference Opinion on the Use of Dispersants and In-Situ Burning in the United States (U.S.) Region IV | OPR-2020-02942 | https://doi.org/10.25923/9tgg-f590 | 3/8/2021 |
Programmatic Letter of Concurrence on the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Events Program, U.S. Caribbean | FPR-2017-9233 | http://doi.org/10.7289/V5M906WX | 12/15/2017 |
Biological Opinion on the Use of Dispersants and In-Situ Burning in the United States (U.S.) Caribbean | FPR-2017-9214 | https://doi.org/10.7289/v5gh9g6h | 12/15/2017 |
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Project Title | ECO/PCTS Reference Number | DOI Number / NOAA Repository Link | Signature Date |
Biological Opinion on the Federally Regulated Oil and Gas Program Activities in the Gulf of Mexico |
OPR-2017-00002 / FPR-2017-9234 |
https://doi.org/10.25923/hyeh-mb74 |
03/13/2020 ; 04/21/2021 |
Biological Opinion on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Issuance of Five Oil and Gas Permits for Geological and Geophysical Seismic Surveys off the Atlantic Coast and NOAA Fisheries' Issuance of Incidental Harassment Authorizations under the MMPA |
FPR-2018-9244 (Spectrum); FPR2018-924a5 (TGS); FPR-2018-9246 (WesternGeco); FPR-2018- 9247 (COG); |
https://doi.org/10.25923/t4qs-jc72 | 11/28/2018 |
Environmental Protection Agency
*Note that opinions specific to pesticide consultations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are listed separately and can be found on the our Pesticide Consultations page.
Department of Defense
Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM)
Project Title | ECO/PCTS Reference Number | DOI Number / NOAA Repository Link | Signature Date |
Biological Opinion on the Provision of Financing of Eligible U.S. Goods and Services to be Used in the Mozambique Liquefied Natural Gas Project in Mozambique | OPR-2019-03473 | https://doi.org/10.25923/xej0-qh91 | 03/20/2020 |
NOAA Fisheries - Scientific Research Permits