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(Zalophus Californianus) Use of Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms in California

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(Zalophus Californianus) Use of Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms in California OCS Study BOEM 2016-009 Characterizing and Quantifying California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) Use of Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms in California US Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Pacific OCS Region OCS Study BOEM 2016-009 Characterizing and Quantifying California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) Use of Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms in California Authors Anthony J. Orr1*, Jeffrey D. Harris1, Kari A. Hirschberger1, Jeffrey L. Laake1, Robert L. DeLong1, and Gregory S. Sanders2 Prepared under Inter-Agency Agreement Number M12PG00027 by 1 Marine Mammal Laboratory Alaska Fisheries Science Center NOAA Fisheries National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 7600 Sand Point Way NE Seattle, WA 98115 2 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Pacific OCS Region 760 Paseo Camarillo, Suite 102 Camarillo, CA 93010 US Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Pacific OCS Region July 2016 Disclaimer This study was funded, in part, by the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program, Washington, DC, through Inter- Agency Agreement Number M12PG00027 with the NOAA Fisheries. This report has been technically reviewed by BOEM and it has been approved for publication. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the US Government, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. Report & Data Availability To download a PDF of this report, go to the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program Information System (ESPIS) website at http://marinecadastre.gov/espis/#/ and search on OCS Study BOEM 2016-009. The report may also be downloaded from BOEM’s Recently Completed Environmental Studies – Pacific webpage at http://www.boem.gov/Pacific-Completed-Studies/. Metadata for this study is provided in InPort NMFS Enterprise Data Management Program (https://inport.nmfs.noaa.gov); Dataset ID 26353. Data for this study are archived at NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (https://nodc.noaa.gov); Package Reference ID R1B85T. Citation Orr, A.J., J.D. Harris, K.A. Hirschberger, J.L. Laake, R.L. DeLong, and G.S. Sanders. 2016. Characterizing and quantifying California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) use of offshore oil and gas platforms in California. US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Pacific OCS Region, Camarillo, CA. OCS Study BOEM 2016-009. 35 p. Contacts Anthony J. Orr: Gregory S. Sanders: Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Phone: 206.526.4512 Phone: 805.384.6396 Fax: 206.526.6615 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management California Current Ecosystem Program Pacific OCS Region Marine Mammal Laboratory 760 Paseo Camarillo, Suite 102 Alaska Fisheries Science Center Camarillo, CA 93010 USA NOAA Fisheries National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 7600 Sand Point Way NE Seattle, WA 98115 USA ii Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................................iv List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................................... v List of Acronyms ......................................................................................................................................................... v ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................................vi INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 METHODS .................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Platforms & camera systems .................................................................................................................................. 1 Data collection ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Data analyses ........................................................................................................................................................... 7 RESULTS ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Intra-platform (temporal) comparisons ............................................................................................................. 10 Platform Elly ...................................................................................................................................................... 10 Platform Gina ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 Platform Habitat ................................................................................................................................................ 14 Platform Heritage .............................................................................................................................................. 15 Platform Harvest ............................................................................................................................................... 16 Inter-platform (spatial) comparisons .................................................................................................................. 17 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................................... 19 Platforms & camera systems ................................................................................................................................ 19 Data Analysis Issues .............................................................................................................................................. 20 Pinniped presence ................................................................................................................................................. 22 Intra-platform (temporal) comparisons ............................................................................................................. 23 Inter-platform (spatial) comparisons .................................................................................................................. 25 Notables ................................................................................................................................................................. 26 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................................ 32 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................................... 33 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................................................................. 34 iii List of Figures Figure 1. Several of the 23 oil and gas production platforms in federal waters offshore southern California that were visited during October and November 2012 to evaluate for the installation of time-lapse camera systems to document the use of the platforms by pinnipeds. Figure 2. Locations of gas and oil platforms located in the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Region offshore southern California where time-lapse camera systems were installed to document the use of the platforms by pinnipeds between January 2013 and January 2015. The offshore platforms included (from south to north): Platform Elly (Beta Offshore; San Pedro Bay), Platform Gina (DCOR; Point Hueneme Unit), Platform Habitat (DCOR; Pitas Point Unit), Platform Heritage (Exxon Mobil; Santa Ynez Unit), and Platform Harvest (Plains Exploration and Production Company (PXP)/Freeport McMoran; Point Arguello Unit). Figure 3. Digital automated time-lapse camera systems (developed by Trail Watcher Game Cameras; Monticello, Georgia) that were installed on five gas and oil platforms offshore southern California and programmed to take images between January 2013 and January 2015. The systems consisted of a timing circuit, a camera, and battery bank. They were placed in locations where most areas where pinnipeds could be viewed were covered. Figure 4. Pinniped species observed at or near the gas and oil platforms besides the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) included: (a) Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), and (b) Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii). Figure 5. Monthly median (top) and maximum (bottom) counts of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) on gas and oil platforms located in the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Region offshore southern California from January 2013 to January 2015. Platforms are listed in order from south to north. Figure 6. Hourly median (top) and maximum (bottom) counts of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) on gas and oil platforms
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