Protected Species Mitigation and Monitoring Report
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Protected Species Mitigation and Monitoring Report Marine Geophysical (Seismic) Surveys North Pacific Ocean Main Hawaiian Islands Survey 11 September 2018 – 21 October 2018 Emperor Seamount Chain Survey 23 April 2019 – 01 June 2019 R/V Marcus G. Langseth Prepared for: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University 61 Route 9W, P.O. Box 1000, Palisades, NY 10964-8000 for submission to: National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources 1315 East-West Hwy, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282 Project No. 200539 and 203496 RPS Cruise ID No. MGL1806 and MGL1902 20405 Tomball Parkway Building 2, Suite 200 Amanda Dubuque, Bianca Mares, Diana Maldonado, Houston, Texas 77070, USA Authors Grace DeLeon, Lori Cabrera, Ana Salomon, Andrea Tel: (281) 448-6188 Reviewer(s) StephanieZavala, Karla Milne Rios, Yesenia Balderas Fax: (281) 448-6189 Submittal E-mail: [email protected] 05 September 2019 Date Web: www.rpsgroup.com www.rpsgroup.com 200539 and 203496 | Marcus G. Langseth | L-DEO/NMFS 05 09 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................5 2. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................8 2.1. PROJECT OVERVIEW AND LOCATION.................................................................................. 9 2.1.1. Energy Source and Receiving Systems ................................................................... 12 3. MITIGATION AND MONITORING METHODS .............................................14 3.1. MITIGATION METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 14 3.2. VISUAL MONITORING SURVEY METHODOLOGY ............................................................. 17 3.3. PASSIVE ACOUSTIC MONITORING SURVEY METHODOLOGY .................................... 19 3.3.1. Passive Acoustic Monitoring Parameters ................................................................ 20 3.3.2. Hydrophone Deployment ........................................................................................... 22 4. MONITORING EFFORT SUMMARY ..............................................................23 4.1. SURVEY OPERATIONS SUMMARY ....................................................................................... 23 4.1.1. General survey parameters ....................................................................................... 23 4.1.2. MBES, SBP and ADCP operations........................................................................... 23 4.1.3. Airgun operations ........................................................................................................ 24 4.1.4. Interactions with Other Vessels ................................................................................. 28 4.2. VISUAL MONITORING SURVEY SUMMARY ........................................................................ 29 4.3. ACOUSTIC MONITORING SURVEY SUMMARY .................................................................. 31 4.4. SIMULTANEOUS VISUAL AND ACOUSTIC MONITORING SUMMARY ......................... 33 4.5. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ............................................................................................ 33 5. MONITORING AND DETECTION RESULTS ...............................................36 5.1. VISUAL DETECTIONS ............................................................................................................... 36 5.1.1. Other Wildlife ................................................................................................................ 44 5.2. ACOUSTIC DETECTIONS ......................................................................................................... 44 6. MITIGATION ACTION SUMMARY .................................................................45 6.1. PROTECTED SPECIES KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO 160 DECIBELS OR GREATER OF RECEIVED SOUND LEVELS .................................................................................... 45 6.2. IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BIOLOGICAL OPINION’S ITS AND IHA ........................................................................................................................................................ 49 7. LITERATURE CITED ........................................................................................51 200539 and 203496 | Marcus G. Langseth | L-DEO/NMFS 05 09 2019 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Location and survey lines of the Main Hawaiian Islands Marine Geophysical Survey. ................. 10 Figure 2: Location and survey lines of the Emperor Seamount Chain Marine Geophysical Survey. ........... 11 Figure 3. Protected Species Observer observation tower with mounted big-eye binoculars, as seen from the stern of the vessel. .................................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 4: Simplified pathway of data through the PAM system on board the Langseth. ............................... 20 Figure 5. Location of the PAM cable in relation to the seismic gear during the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain seismic survey program. ................................................................................................... 22 Figure 6: Geospatial data of source operations for the Main Hawaiian Islands survey area. ....................... 26 Figure 7: Geospatial data of source operations for the Emperor Seamount Chain survey area. ................. 27 Figure 8: Protected species detections during the Main Hawaiian Islands survey. ........................................ 37 Figure 9: Protected species detections during the Emperor Seamount Chain survey. .................................. 38 Figure 10: Protected species observed during the Main Hawaiian Islands survey sorted by species group. ............................................................................................................................................................................ 39 Figure 11: Protected Species observed during the Emperor Seamount Chain survey sorted by species group. ................................................................................................................................................................. 40 Figure 12: Number of protected species detections each day of the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain seismic survey program and corresponding weather data for each day. ................................................ 41 Figure 13: Two part hydrophone cable with a 230 meter tow cable and detachable 20 meter hydrophone array ................................................................................................................................................................... 56 Figure 14: PAM cable spooled onto the winch. .................................................................................................... 57 Figure 15: Hydrophone cable on the winch connected to the main deck cable. ............................................. 57 Figure 16: Passive Acoustic Monitoring Station in the Main Science Lab ....................................................... 58 Figure 17: The PAM cable connecting to the offset rope via shackle. .............................................................. 58 Figure 18: Visual Detection #2; Short-finned Pilot Whales; 12 October 2018. ................................................ 66 Figure 19: Visual Detection #3; Spinner Dolphins; 21 October 2018. .............................................................. 66 Figure 20: Visual Detection #3; Spinner Dolphins; 21 October 2018. .............................................................. 66 Figure 21: Visual Detection #4; Northern Fur Seal; 4 May 2019. ...................................................................... 67 Figure 22: Visual Detection #7; 8 May 2019. ........................................................................................................ 67 Figure 23: Visual Detection #8; Fin Whales; 9 May 2019. .................................................................................. 68 Figure 24: Visual Detection #11; Sperm Whales; 23 May 2019. ....................................................................... 68 Figure 25: Visual Detection #12; Killer Whales; 24 May 2019. .......................................................................... 69 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Predicted 160/175/195 Decibel Zones* implemented during the seismic survey program. 16 Table 2: Predicted Level A Harassment Zones* for each marine mammal hearing group implemented during the seismic survey program. 16 Table 3: Survey parameters of the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain seismic survey program. 23 Table 4: Suspension of survey operations during the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain seismic survey program. 23 2 200539 and 203496 | Marcus G. Langseth | L-DEO/NMFS 05 09 2019 Table 5. Total acoustic source operations during the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain seismic survey program. 25 Table 6: Mechanical and technical source silence during the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain seismic survey program. 28 Table 7: Other vessels observed during the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain seismic survey program. 28 Table 8: Other vessel interaction with Langseth seismic gear during the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain seismic survey program. 29 Table 9: Initiation and termination of visual monitoring during the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain seismic survey program. 29 Table