Biological Opinion (NMFS), US Army Corps of Engineers, Turnagain Marine Construction, Seward Cruise Ship Passenger Dock Expansion, Seward, Alaska

NMFS Consultation Number: AKRO-2024-03211

This opinion considers the effects of in-water pile driving of steel piles, dredging and the placement of fill in marine waters, construction vessel traffic, and support operations.

The action may affect the endangered North Pacific right whale, the endangered sperm whale, the threatened Mexico Distinct Population Segment (DPS) and endangered Western North Pacific DPS humpback whale, endangered fin whale, and the endangered Western DPS Steller sea lion. There is no designated critical habitat located within the action area.

This opinion is based on information provided in the Biological Assessment (BA) provided by the USACE’s non-federal designee, Solstice Alaska Consulting, Inc. (Solstice), the IHA application and the proposed IHA (90 FR 34463; July 22, 2025). Other sources of information relied upon include consultation communications (emails, phone calls, and virtual meetings), recent consultations completed in the same region, previous monitoring reports, and marine mammal surveys conducted in Resurrection Bay. A complete record of this consultation is on file at NMFS’s Anchorage, Alaska, office.