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Draft Environmental Assessment of a Marine Geophysical Survey by the R/V Marcus G

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Draft Environmental Assessment of a Marine Geophysical Survey by the R/V Marcus G Draft Environmental Assessment of a Marine Geophysical Survey by the R/V Marcus G. Langseth in the Gulf of Alaska, 2019 Prepared for Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory 61 Route 9W, P.O. Box 1000 Palisades, NY 10964-8000 and National Science Foundation Division of Ocean Sciences 4201 Wilson Blvd., Suite 725 Arlington, VA 22230 by LGL Ltd., environmental research associates 22 Fisher St., POB 280 King City, Ont. L7B 1A6 13 November 2018 LGL Report FA0168-01 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................ iv List of Tables .......................................................................................................................................... v Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. vi List of Acronyms .................................................................................................................................. viii I Purpose and Need ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Mission of NSF ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Action .............................................................................. 1 1.3 Background of NSF-funded Marine Seismic Research ................................................................. 2 1.4 Regulatory Setting ...................................................................................................................... 2 II Alternatives Including Proposed Action .............................................................................................. 3 2.1 Proposed Action .......................................................................................................................... 3 2.1.1 Project Objectives and Context ....................................................................................... 3 2.1.2 Proposed Activities ......................................................................................................... 5 2.1.3 Monitoring and Mitigation Measures .............................................................................. 7 2.2 Alternative 1: No Action Alternative ......................................................................................... 10 2.3 Alternatives Considered but Eliminated from Further Analysis .................................................. 11 2.3.1 Alternative E1: Alternative Location ............................................................................. 11 2.3.2 Alternative E2: Use of Alternative Technologies ........................................................... 11 III Affected Environment ...................................................................................................................... 13 3.1 Oceanography ........................................................................................................................... 14 3.2 Protected Areas ......................................................................................................................... 15 3.2.1 Critical Habitat for ESA-listed Species ............................................................................. 15 3.2.2 Other Protected Areas ....................................................................................................... 16 3.3 Marine Mammals ...................................................................................................................... 16 3.3.1 Mysticetes .................................................................................................................... 17 3.3.2 Odontocetes .................................................................................................................. 26 3.3.3 Pinnipeds ...................................................................................................................... 32 3.3.4 Marine Fissiped ............................................................................................................ 36 3.4 Sea Turtles ................................................................................................................................ 37 3.4.1 Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) .................................................................. 37 3.4.2 Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) ..................................................................................... 38 3.5 Seabirds .................................................................................................................................... 39 3.5.1 Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) ............................................................... 39 3.5.2 Steller’s Eider (Polysticta stelleri) ................................................................................ 39 3.6 Corals ....................................................................................................................................... 41 3.7 Fish, Essential Fish Habitat, and Habitat Areas of Particular Concern ........................................ 42 3.7.1 ESA-Listed Fish Species............................................................................................... 42 3.7.2 Important Fish Resources ............................................................................................. 42 3.7.3 Essential Fish Habitat ................................................................................................... 44 3.7.4 Habitat Areas of Particular Concern .............................................................................. 45 3.8 Fisheries ................................................................................................................................... 46 3.8.1 Commercial Fisheries ................................................................................................... 46 3.8.2 Recreational and Subsistence Fisheries ......................................................................... 48 3.8.3 Aquaculture .................................................................................................................. 49 Draft Environmental Assessment for L-DEO Gulf of Alaska, 2019 Page ii Table of Contents 3.9 Recreational SCUBA Diving ..................................................................................................... 49 IV Environmental Consequences .......................................................................................................... 50 4.1 Proposed Action ........................................................................................................................ 50 4.1.1 Direct Effects on Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles and Their Significance .................. 50 4.1.2 Direct Effects on Marine Invertebrates, Fish, and Fisheries, EFH, and Their Significance .................................................................................................................. 71 4.1.3 Direct Effects on Seabirds and Their Significance ......................................................... 77 4.1.4 Indirect Effects on Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles, Seabirds and Fish and Their Significance .................................................................................................................. 78 4.1.5 Possible Effects on Subsistence Hunting and Fishing .................................................... 78 4.1.6 Direct Effects on Recreational Fisheries and Their Significance .................................... 80 4.1.7 Direct Effects on Recreational SCUBA Divers and Dive Sites and Their Significance .................................................................................................................. 80 4.1.8 Cumulative Effects ....................................................................................................... 80 4.1.9 Unavoidable Impacts .................................................................................................... 83 4.1.10 Coordination with Other Agencies and Processes .......................................................... 83 4.2 No Action Alternative ............................................................................................................... 83 V List of Preparers ................................................................................................................................ 85 VI Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................... 86 List of Appendices: .............................................................................................................................. 128 Draft Environmental Assessment for L-DEO Gulf of Alaska, 2019 Page iii List of Figures LIST OF FIGURES Page FIGURE 1. Map of the proposed 2019 seismic survey off the Alaskan Peninsula showing representative survey lines. ..................................................................................................................................... 4 FIGURE 2. Map of previously deployed seismic receiver locations along the Alaskan Peninsula, including both terrestrial and ocean bottom seismometers. ............................................................... 6 FIGURE 3. Sea otter
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