Draft Environmental Analysis of a Marine Geophysical Survey by the R/V Marcus G. Langseth in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, October–November 2015 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 16 April 2015 LGL Report FA0041-1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF ACRONYMS ..................................................................................................................................... vi I. PURPOSE AND NEED .................................................................................................................................. 1 Mission of NSF................................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Action.................................................................................... 1 Background of NSF-funded Marine Seismic Research ...................................................................... 2 Regulatory Setting .............................................................................................................................. 2 II. ALTERNATIVES INCLUDING PROPOSED ACTION ..................................................................................... 2 Proposed Action ................................................................................................................................. 2 (1) Project Objectives and Context .......................................................................................... 2 (2) Proposed Activities ............................................................................................................. 4 (3) Monitoring and Mitigation Measures ................................................................................. 6 Alternative 1: Alternative Survey Timing ....................................................................................... 13 Alternative 2: No Action Alternative .............................................................................................. 14 Alternatives Considered but Eliminated from Further Analysis ...................................................... 14 (1) Alternative E1: Alternative Location ............................................................................... 14 (2) Alternative E2: Use of Alternative Technologies ............................................................. 14 III. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT .................................................................................................................... 14 Physical Environment and Oceanography ........................................................................................ 17 Protected Areas ................................................................................................................................. 17 Marine Mammals .............................................................................................................................. 19 (1) Mysticetes ......................................................................................................................... 23 (2) Odontocetes ...................................................................................................................... 24 Sea Turtles ........................................................................................................................................ 30 (1) Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) ................................................................................ 31 (2) Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) ........................................................................................ 34 (3) Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) .................................................................... 35 Seabirds ............................................................................................................................................ 35 (1) Audouin’s Gull (Larus audouinii) .................................................................................... 35 (2) Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) ................................................................ 36 Fish, Essential Fish Habitat, and Habitat Areas of Particular Concern ............................................ 36 (1) Scalloped Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna lewini) .............................................................. 36 (2) Adriatic Sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii) ............................................................................ 37 (3) European Sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) ............................................................................. 37 (4) Sawback Angelshark (Squatina aculeata) ........................................................................ 37 (5) Smoothback Angelshark (Squatina oculata) .................................................................... 37 (6) Angelshark (Squatina squatina) ....................................................................................... 38 Draft Environmental Analysis for L-DEO Eastern Mediterranean Sea, 2015 Page ii Table of Contents (7) Common Guitarfish (Rhinobatos rhinobatos) .................................................................. 38 (8) Blackchin Guitarfish (Rhinobatos cemiculus) .................................................................. 38 (9) Undulate Ray (Raja undulata) .......................................................................................... 38 Fisheries ............................................................................................................................................ 38 (1) Commercial Fisheries ....................................................................................................... 39 (2) Recreational Fisheries ...................................................................................................... 40 (3) Aquaculture ...................................................................................................................... 41 Recreational SCUBA Diving ........................................................................................................... 41 IV. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES...................................................................................................... 41 Proposed Action ............................................................................................................................... 41 (1) Direct Effects on Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles and Their Significance .................. 41 (2) Direct Effects on Invertebrates, Fish, Fisheries, and EFH and Their Significance .......... 58 (3) Direct Effects on Seabirds and Their Significance ........................................................... 61 (4) Indirect Effects on Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles, Seabirds and Fish and Their Significance ................................................................................................................. 61 (5) Direct Effects on Recreational SCUBA Divers and Dive Sites and Their Significance ................................................................................................................. 62 (6) Cumulative Effects ........................................................................................................... 62 (7) Unavoidable Impacts ........................................................................................................ 65 (8) Coordination with Other Agencies and Processes ............................................................ 65 Alternative Action: Another Time .................................................................................................... 66 No Action Alternative ...................................................................................................................... 66 V. LIST OF PREPARERS ............................................................................................................................... 67 VI. LITERATURE CITED .............................................................................................................................. 68 Draft Environmental Analysis for L-DEO Eastern Mediterranean Sea, 2015 Page iii Abstract ABSTRACT Researchers from Oregon State University, with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), propose to conduct a high-energy seismic survey from the R/V Marcus G. Langseth (Langseth) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea during 12 October–14 November 2015. The NSF-owned Langseth is operated by Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (L-DEO). The proposed seismic survey would use a towed array of 36 airguns with a total discharge volume of ~6600 in3. The seismic survey would take place within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Greece, including its territorial waters, in water depths ~20–3000+ m. On behalf of L-DEO, the U.S. State Department will seek authorization from Greece for clearance to work in its EEZ. NSF, as the funding and action agency, has a mission to “promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…”. The proposed seismic survey would collect