All Protected Resources Regulations & Actions
Incidental Take Authorization: NOAA Fisheries SEFSC Fisheries and Ecosystem Research Activities in the Atlantic Ocean
NOAA Fisheries' Office of Protected Resources (OPR), 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…
Effective
06/05/2020
Incidental Take Authorization: Scripps Institute of Oceanography Low-Energy Geophysical Survey in the South Atlantic Ocean
NOAA Fisheries has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during a low-energy marine geophysical survey in the South Atlantic…
Effective
11/03/2019
Incidental Take Authorization: U.S. Navy Operations of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active (SURTASS LFA) Sonar (beginning in
OAA Fisheries, upon request from the U.S. Navy, issues these regulations pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act to govern the taking of marine mammals incidental to the use of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor Systems Low Frequency Active (SURTASS…
- Issued LOA (pdf, 19 pages)
- Amended Application November 2018 (pdf, 237 pages)
- LOA Application (pdf, 225 pages)
- References (pdf, 32 pages)
- Stranding Notification and Reporting Plan (pdf, 3 pages)
- Biological Opinion (pdf, 382 pages)
- EIS
- EIS Record of Decision (pdf, 20 pages)
- Public Comments on Proposed Rule (pdf, 72 pages)
- Harbor porpoise desktop study (see Publications Section)
- Public Comment on Notice of Receipt (pdf, 5 pages)
Effective
08/12/2019
Final Rule to List Bryde's Whale in the Gulf of Mexico Under the ESA
We, NOAA Fisheries, issue a final rule to list the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) (hereafter GOMx Bryde's whale) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We have completed a status review of the GOMx Bryde’s whale in…
Effective
05/15/2019
Incidental Take Authorization: U.S. Navy Hawaii-Southern California Training and Testing (HSTT) (2018-2023)
NOAA Fisheries has received a request from the U.S. Navy (Navy) to extend the expiration date from December 2023 to December 2025 for Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) regulations authorizing the take of marine mammals incidental to Navy training and…
Effective
12/21/2018
Incidental Take Authorization: Oil and Gas Industry Geophysical Survey Activity in the Atlantic Ocean
In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NOAA Fisheries has issued incidental harassment authorizations (IHA) to five separate applicants to incidentally harass…
- Notice of Final IHAs
- Notice of Proposed IHAs
- Notice of Extension of Public Comment Period
- Notice of Receipt
- Media Release: Authorizations Issued for Marine Mammal Impacts from Atlantic Ge…
- Issued IHA: CGG (pdf, 18 pages)
- Issued IHA: ION GeoVentures (pdf, 18 pages)
- Request to Change Name from ION GeoVentures to GX Technology (pdf, 2 pages)
- Issued IHA: Spectrum Geo Inc. (pdf, 18 pages)
- Issued IHA: TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company (pdf, 18 pages)
- Issued IHA: WesternGeco (pdf, 18 pages)
- Final Environmental Assessment (pdf, 98 pages)
- FONSI (pdf, 12 pages)
- Record of Decision (pdf, 10 pages)
- Biological Opinion (pdf, 396 pages)
- Public Comments received on Proposed IHAs (pdf, 710 pages)
- References Cited: Final IHAs (pdf, 44 pages)
- Public Comments received on IHA Applications and Notice of Receipt (pdf, 720 pa…
- IHA Application: CGG (pdf, 88 pages)
- IHA Application: ION GeoVentures (pdf, 219 pages)
- ION GeoVentures PAM Plan (pdf, 1 page)
- IHA Application: Spectrum Geo Inc. (pdf, 181 pages)
- Spectrum Geo Inc. PAM Plan (pdf, 4 pages)
- Application Modification: Spectrum Geo Inc. (pdf, 3 pages)
- IHA Application: TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company (pdf, 206 pages)
- IHA Application: WesternGeco, LLC (pdf, 197 pages)
- Marine Mammal Core Area Maps (pdf, 71 pages)
Effective
11/30/2018
Incidental Take Authorization: U.S. Navy Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing (AFTT) along Atlantic and Gulf Coasts (2018-2025)
NOAA Fisheries has issued regulations pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to govern the taking of marine mammals incidental to the training and testing activities conducted in the Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing (AFTT) Study Area…
- Correction to Final Rule
- Notice of Final Rule for 2 Year Extension
- Notice of Proposed Rule for 2 Year Extension
- Notice of Receipt of Application for 2 Year Extension
- Notice of Final Rule
- Correction to Proposed Rule
- Notice of Proposed Rule
- Notice of Receipt of Application for LOA
- Revised Application for Extension (pdf, 132 pages)
- References for Extension (pdf, 6 pages)
- LOA for Testing (pdf, 39 pages)
- LOA for Training (pdf, 34 pages)
- Notification and Reporting Plan (pdf, 4 pages)
- Final Biological Opinion
- LOA Application (PDF, 560 pages)
- Environmental Impact Statement
- Monitoring and Reporting
- Ship Strike Analysis (PDF, 3 pages)
- Draft Notification and Reporting Plan (PDF, 4 pages)
Effective
11/14/2018
Incidental Take Authorization: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Marine Geophysical Survey in the North Pacific Ocean
NOAA Fisheries issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University (L-DEO) to incidentally take, by Level A and/or Level B harassment, marine mammals during a Marine Geophysical Survey in the…
Published
08/31/2018
Incidental Take Authorization: Scripps Institution of Oceanography Low-energy Marine Geophysical Survey in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean
NOAA Fisheries issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to Scripps Institution of Oceanography to incidentally harass, by Level B and Level A harassment, marine mammals during a low-energy marine geophysical survey in the Northwest Atlantic…
Published
06/15/2018
Incidental Take Authorization: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Marine Geophysical Surveys in the Southwest Pacific Ocean
NOAA Fisheries issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to marine geophysical surveys in the Southwest Pacific Ocean.
Survey…
Published
11/27/2017