Effects of Noise on Fish, Fisheries, and Invertebrates in the U.S. Atlantic and Arctic from Energy Industry Sound-Generating Activities Workshop Report U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management December 2012 Effects of Noise on Fish, Fisheries, and Invertebrates in the U.S. Atlantic and Arctic from Energy Industry Sound-Generating Activities Workshop Report Prepared under BOEM Contract M11PC00031 by Normandeau Associates, Inc. 25 Nashua Rd. Bedford, NH 03110 Published by U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management DISCLAIMER This Workshop R eport was p repared u nder co ntract b etween the B ureau o f O cean E nergy Management ( BOEM) and N ormandeau A ssociates, Inc. The doc ument has b een t echnically reviewed by the BOEM and has been approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the view and policies of BOEM, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendations for use. AVAILABILITY Copies of this report may be obtained from BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program Information System (ESPIS) at the following website: http://www.data.boem.gov/homepg/data_center/other/espis/espismaster.asp?appid=1 ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SPONSORSHIP Study c oncept, ov ersight, a nd funding w ere pr ovided b y t he U .S. D epartment of t he Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program, Washington, DC under Contract Number M11PC00031. CITATION Suggested Citation: Normandeau Associates, Inc. 2012. Effects of Noise on Fish, Fisheries, and Invertebrates in the U.S. Atlantic and Arctic from Energy Industry Sound-Generating Activities. A Workshop Report for the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Contract # M11PC00031. 72 pp. plus Appendices. ABOUT THE COVER Cover photos courtesy of Norwegian Meteorological Institute (ship), BOEM (oil platform), and Laszlo Ilyes (school of fish). All rights reserved. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Lead authors for individual chapters in the report: Author (Affiliation) Chapters Topics Ann Pembroke 1 Introduction (Normandeau) Matthew Balge 2 The Workshop (Normandeau) Christopher Gurshin 2 The Workshop (Normandeau) Dr. Anthony Hawkins 3 Gap Analysis (Loughine Ltd.) Dr. Arthur N. Popper 3 Gap Analysis (University of Maryland) All contributed to significant editorial review of the report. The members of the Science Review Panel provided critical review of the Gap Analysis: Dr. Christopher Glass, University of New Hampshire Dr. David Mann, University of South Florida Dr. Jennifer Miksis-Olds, Pennsylvania State University Dr. Roberto Racca, JASCO Applied Sciences iv Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background ..................................................................................................................1 1.2 Purpose of the Workshop ............................................................................................2 1.3 Literature Synthesis Overview ...................................................................................2 2. THE WORKSHOP ............................................................................................. 4 2.1 Overview of Meeting ....................................................................................................4 2.2 Annotated Agenda .......................................................................................................5 2.2.1 Session One: Introduction and Overview ........................................................5 2.2.2 Session Two: Priority Habitats, Species, and Fisheries ..................................9 2.2.3 Session Three: Sources and Sound Exposure ................................................13 2.2.4 Session Four: Effects of Sound of Fishes and Invertebrates .........................24 2.2.5 Session Five: Conclusions ............................................................................35 3. GAP ANALYSIS ............................................................................................. 37 3.1 Information Gaps Identified During Literature Review and Workshop Discussions ..................................................................................................................38 3.2 Priorities for Research Derived from the Gap Analysis.........................................65 3.2.1 Describing soundscapes within the U.S. Arctic and Atlantic OCS ................65 3.2.2 Impacts of particular sound sources ...............................................................66 3.2.3 Effects of man-made sounds on marine animals ............................................66 3.2.4 Mitigation of effects .......................................................................................68 3.3 Priorities for Other Forms of Action .......................................................................69 3.3.1 Evaluating mitigation measures .....................................................................69 3.3.2 Work in liaison with others ............................................................................70 3.3.3 Measurement and description of sounds and the conduct of acoustic experiments ....................................................................................................70 3.4 Conclusions .................................................................................................................70 4. LITERATURE CITED ..................................................................................... 71 v Table of Contents Appendices Appendix A: Agenda.................................................................................................... A-1 Appendix B: Presentations ........................................................................................... B-1 Appendix C: Biosketches of Invited Participants ......................................................... C-1 Appendix D: List of Attendees .................................................................................... D-1 Appendix E: Literature Synthesis ................................................................................ E-1 List of Figures Figure 1. BOEM applied science and informed decisions framework. .......................... 6 Figure 2. Environmental Studies Program (ESP) process flow. The workshop feeds into the first flow circle as noted in the figure. ....................................... 7 Figure 3. An example of grouping fishes by sensitivity of seismic sound and ecological association prepared at the Halifax workshop on the effects of sound on fish behavior (Source: CEF Consultants Ltd. 2011) .................. 25 List of Tables Table 1. Metrics identified by the breakout group that are essential (E), optional (O), or not applicable (N/A) for four exposure scenarios. Metrics that were not discussed under a given scenario are left blank. ......... 22 Table 2. Contents of Information Gaps, Section 3.1. ................................................... 40 vi Acronyms and Abbreviation Acronyms and Abbreviations µPa microPascal ADFG Alaska Department of Fish and Game AEP Auditory Evoked Potential ANSI American National Standards Institute BOEM Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (United States) BOEMRE Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (since superseded by BOEM) (United States) CPUE Catch Per Unit Effort dB Decibel dBpeak Decibels measured in terms of peak sound pressure dBrms Decibels measured in terms of root-mean-square pressure DOSITS Discovery of Sound in the Sea (DOSITS.ORG) EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone EFH Essential Fish Habitat ESA Endangered Species Act ESP Environmental Studies Program FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (United States) FMP Fishery Management Plan GLM General Linear Models HAPC Habitat Areas of Particular Concern Hz Hertz IACMST Inter-Agency Committee on Marine Science and Technology (United Kingdom) ICES International Council for Exploration of the Sea ISO International Organization for Standardization kg Kilogram kHz Kilohertz km Kilometer lbs Pounds LNG Liquefied Natural Gas MAFMC Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council MSFCMA Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (United States) or Magnuson-Stevens Act MMPA Marine Mammal Protection Act (United States) MMS Minerals Management Service (precursor to BOEM) (United States) NEFMC New England Fishery Management Council NEPA National Environmental Policy Act (United States) nm Nautical Miles NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service (United States) NOAA National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (United States) NPFMC North Pacific Fishery Management Council NRC National Research Council (United States) OCS Outer Continental Shelf OCSLA Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (United States) vii Acronyms and Abbreviation PAM Passive Acoustic Monitoring PCAD model Population Consequences of Acoustic Disturbance model PTS Permanent Threshold Shift RMS Root-Mean-Square (in sound measurements) SAFMC South Atlantic Fishery Management Council SEL Sound Exposure Level SELcum Cumulative Sound Exposure Level SELss Single Strike Sound Exposure Level SPL Sound Pressure Level TTS Temporary Threshold Shift viii Gap Analysis 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background As authorized by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), and amended by the Energy Policy A ct of 2005, t he B ureau o f O cean E nergy M anagement ( BOEM) i s r esponsible f or oversight of v arious