Atlantic Oil and Gas 2017 Rule CGG Application
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Request for an Incidental Harassment Authorization under the Marine Mammal Protection Act CGG Atlantic 2D Seismic Program December 2015 Submitted to: National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources 1315 East-West Hwy Silver Spring, MD 20910 Submitted by: CGG 10300 Town Park Drive Houston, TX 77072 CGG | Atlantic 2D Seismic Program 2 Cite as: CGG. 2015. Request for an Incidental Harassment Authorization under the Marine Mammal Protection Act- CGG Atlantic 2D Seismic Program. Prepared by Stooksberry, A. CGG | Atlantic 2D Seismic Program 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 8 OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIVITY .................................................................................................................... 10 1.0 DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIED ACTIVITY ...................................................................................... 11 1.1 AIRCRAFT ............................................................................................................................................... 11 1.2 VESSELS ................................................................................................................................................. 11 1.2.1 Vessel noise .................................................................................................................................. 12 1.3 DESCRIPTION OF SEISMIC EQUIPMENT ..................................................................................................... 12 1.3.1 Hydrophone streamer .................................................................................................................... 12 1.3.2 Seismic acoustic source ................................................................................................................ 13 1.3.3 Gravity and magnetic passive equipment ...................................................................................... 16 2.0 DATES, DURATION, AND REGION OF ACTIVITY ........................................................................ 16 3.0 MARINE MAMMALS IN THE PROPOSED SURVEY AREA ......................................................... 17 4.0 DESCRIPTION OF MARINE MAMMALS IN THE PROPOSED SURVEY AREA ...................... 22 4.1 MYSTICETI (BALEEN WHALES) ............................................................................................................... 22 4.1.1 Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) ............................................................................................ 22 4.1.2 Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) ............................................................................................. 23 4.1.3 Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) ............................................................................................... 23 4.1.4 Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata).................................................................................... 24 4.1.5 North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) .......................................................................... 24 4.1.6 Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) ................................................................................ 25 4.1.7 Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) ................................................................................................. 25 4.2 ODONTOCETI (DOLPHINS, TOOTHED WHALES, PORPOISE) ....................................................................... 26 4.2.1 Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus) ................................................................ 26 4.2.2 Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) ................................................................................. 26 4.2.3 Beaked whales .............................................................................................................................. 27 4.2.4 Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) ....................................................................................... 28 4.2.5 Clymene dolphin (Stenella clymene) ............................................................................................ 29 4.2.6 False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) ..................................................................................... 29 4.2.7 Fraser’s dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei) ........................................................................................ 30 4.2.8 Harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) ......................................................................................... 30 4.2.9 Killer whale (Orcinus orca) ........................................................................................................... 31 4.2.10 Melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra) .............................................................................. 31 4.2.11 Pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) ........................................................................... 31 4.2.12 Pilot whales (Globicephala sp.) ..................................................................................................... 32 4.2.13 Pygmy and dwarf sperm whales (Kogia sp.) ................................................................................. 33 4.2.14 Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus) ............................................................................................... 33 4.2.15 Rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) ................................................................................. 34 4.2.16 Short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) ..................................................................... 34 4.2.17 Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) ....................................................................................... 34 CGG | Atlantic 2D Seismic Program 4 4.2.18 Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) ......................................................................................... 35 4.2.19 Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) ........................................................................................ 35 5.0 TYPE OF INCIDENTAL HARASSMENT AUTHORIZATION REQUESTED .............................. 36 6.0 ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MARINE MAMMAL HARRASSMENTS .......................................... 36 6.1 HABITAT-BASED DENSITY MODELS ......................................................................................................... 39 6.2 MARINE MAMMAL HARASSMENT ESTIMATE METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 44 6.3 MARINE MAMMAL HARASSMENT ESTIMATE RESULTS .......................................................................... 45 6.4 ABUNDANCE ESTIMATES ........................................................................................................................ 47 6.5 INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS ................................................................................................................ 52 6.6 ANIMALS PRESENT OUTSIDE OF THE US EEZ ......................................................................................... 53 6.6.1 Analysis limitations and uncertainties........................................................................................... 53 6.6.2 Dolphins ........................................................................................................................................ 54 6.6.3 Whales .......................................................................................................................................... 54 6.6.4 Porpoise ........................................................................................................................................ 54 7.0 ANTICIPATED IMPACT OF THE ACTIVITY .................................................................................. 55 7.1 PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES .................................................................................................................. 55 7.1.1 Non-auditory effects ..................................................................................................................... 55 7.1.2 Auditory Effects ............................................................................................................................ 56 7.2 BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES ....................................................................................................................... 57 7.3 MASKING ................................................................................................................................................ 57 8.0 ANTICIPATED IMPACTS ON SUBSISTENCE ................................................................................. 58 9.0 ANTICIPATED IMPACT ON HABITAT ............................................................................................ 58 10.0 ANTICIPATED EFFECTS OF HABITAT IMPACTS ON MARINE MAMMALS ........................ 58 11.0 MITIGATION MEASURES ................................................................................................................... 59 11.1 VESSEL STRIKE AVOIDANCE .................................................................................................................. 59 11.2 BUFFER ZONE ......................................................................................................................................... 61 11.3 SEISMIC ACOUSTIC SOURCE OPERATIONS ...............................................................................................