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Incidental Take Authorizations for Research and Other Activities

This page lists Incidental Take Authorizations for research and other activities. Applications are typically posted to this page when public review is initiated.

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Table of Contents

 An Interactive Map can be viewed that shows recent and in process authorizations.

Authorizations In Process

The following authorizations are currently in process.

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory's Marine Geophysical Survey in the Puerto Rico Trench and slope of Puerto Rico

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    In Process Closed -- --

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries has received a request from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University (L-DEO) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to a marine geophysical survey. 

    NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center Fisheries and Ecosystem Research Activities in the Pacific Ocean (2023-2028)

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    In Process Closed -- --

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries' Office of Protected Resources has received a request from the NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center for authorization to take small numbers of marine mammals incidental to conducting fisheries research, over the course of 5 years from the date of issuance. NOAA Fisheries' Office of Protected Resources is announcing receipt of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s request for the development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals. 

    California Department of Fish and Wildlife Fisheries and Ecosystem Monitoring and Research Activities within the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary, CA

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    In Process Closed -- --

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries has received a request from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), on behalf of the Interagency Ecological Program, for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to conducting fisheries and ecosystem monitoring and research activities within the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary, CA, over the course of five years. NOAA Fisheries is announcing receipt of CDFW’s request for the development and implementation of regulations governing the incidental taking of marine mammals. 

    NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Fisheries and Ecosystem Research Activities in the Pacific Ocean 

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    In Process Closed -- --

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries' Office of Protected Resources has received a request from NOAA Fisheries' Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center for a Letter of Authorization to take marine mammals incidental to fisheries research conducted in multiple specified geographical regions, over the course of five years from the date of issuance. NOAA Fisheries is proposing regulations to govern that take.

    Active Authorizations

    The following authorizations are currently active.

    University of Texas' Marine Geophysical Survey in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    Active Closed 9/21/2023 9/29/2023 - 9/28/2024

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries has issued an incidental harassment authorization to the University of Texas at Austin to incidentally harass marine mammals during marine geophysical survey activities in coastal waters off of Texas.

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory's marine geophysical surveys of the Blake Plateau in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    Active Closed 7/10/2023 7/10/2023 - 7/9/2024

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries has issued an incidental harassment authorization to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory to incidentally harass marine mammals during a marine geophysical survey of the Blake Plateau in the northwest Atlantic Ocean.

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Geophysical Surveys off North Carolina in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    Active Closed 5/5/2023 5/5/2023 - 5/4/2024

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries has issued an incidental harassment authorization to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory to incidentally harass marine mammals during survey activities associated with a marine geophysical survey off North Carolina in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.

    National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs Geophysical Survey in the Ross Sea, Antarctica

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    Active Closed 12/14/2022 12/15/2022 - 12/14/2023

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization to the U.S. National Science Foundation to incidentally harass marine mammals during geophysical surveys in the Ross Sea, Antarctica.

    NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center Fisheries and Ecosystem Research, Atlantic Ocean

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    Active Closed 10/21/2021 10/21/2021 - 10/20/2026

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources, upon request from NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center, hereby issues regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to fisheries research conducted in multiple specified geographical regions over the course of 5 years. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of Letters of Authorization (LOA) for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes, 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. Upon publication of this final rule, NMFS will  issued a LOA to NEFSC for the effective period of the final rule. 

    Point Blue Conservation Science Seabird and Pinniped Research in Central California (2021-2026)

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    Active Closed 5/25/2021 7/1/2021 - 6/30/2026

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources, upon request from Point Blue Conservation Science, issued regulations and a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to seabird research activities in central California over the course of five years. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of LOAs for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes, 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.

    NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center Fisheries and Ecosystem Research Activities in the California Current and Antarctic Research Areas

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    Active Closed 1/15/2021 1/15/2021 - 1/15/2026

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries' Office of Protected Resources has issued regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to fisheries research conducted in multiple specified geographical regions over the course of five years. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of Letters of Authorization for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes, 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.

    NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center Fisheries Research Activities 

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    Active Closed 5/6/2020 6/5/2020 - 6/5/2025

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries' Office of Protected Resources, upon request from NOAA Fisheries' Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), issued regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to fisheries research conducted in the Atlantic Ocean along the southeastern U.S. coast and select estuaries, the Gulf of Mexico and select estuaries, and the Caribbean Sea over the course of 5 years. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of Letters of Authorization for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes, 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.

    University of California Santa Cruz Rocky Intertidal Monitoring off California and Oregon (2020-2025)

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    Active Closed 4/2/2020 4/12/2020 - 4/11/2025

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries, upon request from the University of California Santa Cruz’s Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (UCSC/PISCO), has issued regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to rocky intertidal monitoring surveys along the Oregon and California coasts over the course of five years. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of Letters of Authorization for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes, 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.

    NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center Fisheries and Ecosystem Research Activities in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans 

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    Active LOA Closed 9/4/2019 10/7/2019- 10/6/2024

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries' Office of Protected Resources hereby issues regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to fisheries research conducted in multiple specified geographical regions over the course of five years. These regulations, which allow for the issuance of Letters of Authorization for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes, 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.

    Research and Monitoring Activities in Southern Alaska National Parks

    Status Public Comment Date Issued Effective Dates
    Active Closed 3/7/2019 3/7/2019 - 2/29/2024

    Summary: NOAA Fisheries, upon request from the National Park Service, hereby issues regulations and associated Letters of Authorization to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to research and monitoring activities in southern Alaska over the course of five years (2019-2024).

    Withdrawn and Inactive

    For documents related to withdrawn applications for Authorization and inactive Authorizations, please contact us.

    Applicant Activity Authorization Type Effective Dates
    Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Fishery Independent Monitoring Activities LOA --
    SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Recovery Activities in California (2018) IHA --
    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf Sturgeon Research in the Gulf of Mexico IHA --

    Expired Authorizations

    For documents related to expired authorizations, please contact us.

    Applicant Activity Authorization Type Effective Dates
    NOAA Fisheries NWFSC Fisheries and Ecosystem Research Activities in the Pacific Ocean LOA 8/27/2018- 8/28/2023
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Geophysical Surveys at the Cascadia Subduction Zone and Juan de Fuca Plate in the Northeast Pacific Ocean IHA 8/1/2022 - 7/31/2023
    Scripps Institution of Oceanography Marine Geophysical Surveys in the Southeastern Gulf of Mexico IHA 6/29/2022 - 6/28/2023
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Marine Geophysical Surveys of the Guerrero Gap off the Coast of Mexico in the Eastern Tropical Pacific IHA 5/2/2022 - 5/1/2023
    University of Alaska Geophysics Institute Geophysical Surveys in the Arctic Ocean IHA 8/11/2021 - 8/10/2022
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Geophysical Survey of the Queen Charlotte Fault IHA 7/9/2021 - 7/8/2022
    Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Fireworks Displays in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, California LOA 7/04/2017-7/03/2022
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Marine Geophysical Survey in the Northeast Pacific Ocean (2021) IHA 5/19/2021 - 5/18/2022
    Alaska Aerospace Corporation Space Vehicle and Missile Launch Operations at Kodiak Island, Alaska LOA 4/24/2017-4/25/2022
    Pt. Blue Conservation Society Seabird and Pinniped Research, Central CA IHA 10/1/2020 - 9/30/2021
    NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center Fisheries and Ecosystem Research Activities in the Atlantic Ocean  LOA 9/12/2016 - 9/9/2021
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Marine Geophysical Survey in the Aleutian Islands IHA 9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021
    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Renewal of Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex Monitoring and Research IHA 8/14/2020 - 6/11/2021
    National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs

    THwaites Offshore Research (THOR) Project in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica

    		 IHA 01/24/2020- 1/23/2021
    Scripps Institute of Oceanography Low-Energy Geophysical Survey in the South Atlantic Ocean  IHA 11/3/2019-11/2/2020
    NOAA Fisheries Southwest Fisheries Science Center Fisheries and Ecosystem Research Activities in the Pacific Ocean LOA 10/30/2015- 10/30/2020
    Scripps Institute of Oceanography Low-Energy Geophysical Survey in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean IHA 9/12/2019 - 9/11/2020
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Marine Geophysical Survey in the Northeast Pacific Ocean IHA 7/10/2019 - 7/9/2020
    Point Blue Conservation Science Renewal of Seabird and Pinniped Research in Central California (2019) IHA 2/14/2020 - 7/6/2020
    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex Monitoring and Research IHA 6/12/2019 - 6/11/2020
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Marine Geophysical Survey in the Gulf of Alaska IHA 6/1/2019 - 5/31/2020
    University of California Santa Cruz  Rocky Intertidal Monitoring off California and Oregon (2019) IHA 4/12/2019 - 4/11/2020
    St. George Reef Lighthouse Preservation Society Renewal of Saint George Reef Light Station Restoration Activities in the Northeast Pacific Ocean (2019) IHA 4/10/2019 - 4/9/2020
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory  Marine Geophysical Survey in the North Pacific Ocean IHA 9/1/2018- 8/31/2019
    United States Geological Survey  Geophysical Survey in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean IHA 8/6/2018 - 8/5/2019
    Point Blue Conservation Science Seabird and Pinniped Research in Central California (2018) IHA 7/7/2018 - 7/6/2019
    Scripps Institution of Oceanography Low-energy Marine Geophysical Survey in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean IHA 6/11/2018 - 6/10/2019
    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex Monitoring and Research IHA 4/1/2018 - 3/31/2019
    University of California Santa Cruz Rocky Intertidal Monitoring off California and Oregon (2018) IHA 3/12/2018 - 3/11/2019
    Glacier Bay National Park

    Seabird Research and Climate Monitoring, Alaska

    		 IHA 3/1/2018- 2/28/2019
    St. George Reef Lighthouse Preservation Society Light Station Restoration Activities in California IHA 2/19/2018- 2/18/2019
    SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Recovery Activities in California  IHA 12/01/2017-11/30/2018
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Marine Geophysical Surveys in the Southwest Pacific Ocean IHA 10/27/2017- 10/26/2018
    Scripps Institution of Oceanography Low-Energy Geophysical Survey in the Northeast Pacific Ocean  IHA 9/22/2017-9/19/2018
    University of Hawaii Marine Geophysical Survey in the Central Pacific Ocean IHA 9/14/2017-9/13/2018
    Point Blue Conservation Science Seabird and Pinniped Research in Central California IHA 7/7/2017- 7/6/2018
    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex Seabird and Shorebird Monitoring and Research IHA 4/01/2017-3/31/2018
    University of California Santa Cruz Rocky Intertidal Monitoring off California and Oregon IHA 2/21/2017- 2/20/2018
    St. George Reef Lighthouse Preservation Society Light Station Restoration Activities in California IHA 2/19/2017- 2/18/2018
    Quintillion Subsea Operations, LLC Subsea Cable Laying Operations in U.S. Arctic IHA 7/01/2017-11/15/2017
    Glacier Bay National Park Seabird Research in Alaska IHA 5/1/2017-9/30/2017
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Seismic Survey in Southeast Pacific Ocean IHA 8/01/2016-7/31/2017
    SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Recovery in California  IHA 6/30/2016-6/29/2017
    Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Fireworks Displays in California LOA 06/28/2012-
    06/28/2017
    City of San Diego Sand Quality Study in La Jolla, California IHA 6/1/2016-5/30/2017
    Point Blue Conservation Science Seabird Research in Central California IHA 5/16/2016-5/15/2017
    UC Santa Cruz Partnership for Interdisciplinary Study of Coastal Oceans Rocky Intertidal Monitoring off California and Oregon IHA 2/03/2016 - 2/02/2017
    St. George Reef Lighthouse Preservation Society St. George Reef Light Station Restoration Activities IHA 2/19/2016 - 2/18/2017
    Fairweather, LLC Anchor Retrieval in Chukchi and Beaufort Seas IHA 7/01/2016-10/31/2016
    Quintillion Subsea Operations, Inc Subsea Cable Laying in U.S. Arctic IHA 6/01/2016-10/31/2016
    Glacier Bay National Park Seabird Research in Alaska IHA 5/16/2016-9/30/2016
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Seismic Survey in the South Atlantic Ocean IHA 1/4/2016 - 3/31/2016
    Alaska Aerospace Corporation Space Vehicle and Missile Launch Operations in Alaska LOA 03/22/2011-
    03/22/2016
    Point Blue Conservation Science Seabird Research in Central California IHA 1/31/2015- 1/30/2016

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

    		 Seismic Survey in the Mediterranean Sea IHA 11/19/2015- 12/31/2015

    Glacier Bay National Park

    		 Seabird Research in Alaska IHA 05/15/2015- 09/31/2015
    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

    Seismic Survey in the NW Atlantic Ocean Offshore New Jersey

    		 IHA 06/01/2015- 08/31/2015

    USGS 

    		 Seismic Survey in Atlantic Ocean off Eastern Seaboard IHA 08/21/2014-
    08/20/2015

    BLM

    		 Land Survey Activities in the Eastern Aleutian Islands, AK IHA 06/09/2015- 07/31/2015
    Scripps Institution of Oceanography

    Seismic Survey in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, East of New Zealand

    		 IHA 05/18/2015- 07/30/2015

    More Information

    Last updated by Office of Protected Resources on 09/26/2023

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