When conducting the activities identified in § 218.230(c), the mitigation measures contained in this section and any LOA issued under § 216.106 of this chapter and this subpart must be implemented by Navy personnel or contractors who are trained according to the requirements in the LOA. If Navy contractors are serving on behalf of Navy personnel, Navy contractors must follow the mitigation applicable to Navy personnel. These mitigation measures include, but are not limited to:
(a) General operating procedures. Prior to SURTASS LFA sonar activities, the Navy must promulgate executive guidance for the administration and execution of and compliance with the regulations in this subpart and LOA.
(b) Manned surface vessel mitigation. Manned surface vessel mitigation applies to Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance (T-AGOS) vessels underway and must be implemented to the maximum extent practical based on the prevailing circumstances, including consideration of safety of vessels, towing platforms, and crews, as well as maneuverability restrictions, consistent with the following:
(1) Immediately prior to getting underway and while underway, Lookouts will observe for marine mammals;
(2) While underway, Navy personnel must maneuver the manned surface vessels (which may include reducing speed) to maintain a distance of at least 457.2 meters (m) (500 yards (yd)) around observed whales and 182.9 m (200 yd) around all other marine mammals (except bow- or wake-riding dolphins), providing it is safe to do so. No further action is necessary if a dolphin continues to approach the vessel after the vessel has made one course and/or speed change.
(3) Pedestal-mounted `Big Eye' (20 x 110 millimeter (mm)) binoculars (if installed) shall be used to assist in the detection of marine mammals in the vicinity of the vessel. If the presence of marine mammals is detected acoustically, Lookouts posted on the vessel shall increase the vigilance of their visual observation.
(4) Manned surface vessel mitigation will not be implemented if one or more of the following conditions applies:
(i) Dolphins are determined to be intentionally swimming at the bow, alongside the vessel or vehicle, or directly behind the vessel or vehicle (e.g., to bow-ride or wake-ride);
(ii) The vessel's safety is threatened; or
(iii) Doing so is impractical based on mission requirements (e.g., restricted ability to maneuver during towing activities).
(c) SURTASS LFA sonar mitigation zone; suspension and delay. If a marine mammal is detected, through monitoring required under § 218.235, within or about to enter within 2,000 yd (1.8 kilometers (km)) of the SURTASS LFA source (i.e., the LFA mitigation zone), Navy personnel must immediately delay or suspend SURTASS LFA sonar transmissions.
(d) Recommencement of SURTASS LFA sonar transmissions. The following requirements for commencement or recommencement of SURTASS LFA sonar transmissions apply:
(1) Navy personnel must not commence or recommence SURTASS LFA sonar transmissions earlier than 15 minutes after:
(i) All marine mammals have left the area of the 2,000-yd (1.8 km) LFA sonar mitigation zone; and
(ii) There is no further detection of any marine mammal within the 2,000-yd (1.8 km) LFA sonar mitigation zone as determined by the visual, passive acoustic, and active acoustic high frequency monitoring described in § 218.235.
(2) [Reserved]
(e) Ramp-up of the high-frequency/marine mammal monitoring (HF/M3) active sonar. The following requirements for ramp-up procedures for the HF/M3 active sonar apply:
(1) Prior to full-power use, Navy personnel must ramp up the HF/M3 active sonar power level beginning at a maximum source sound pressure level of 180 decibels referenced to 1 microPascal (dB re 1 µPa) root-mean-square (RMS) sound pressure level (SPL) in 10-dB increments to full operating levels over a period of no less than 5 minutes. Navy personnel must implement this ramp-up procedure:
(i) At least 30 minutes prior to any SURTASS LFA sonar transmissions; and
(ii) Any time after the HF/M3 source has been powered down for more than 2 minutes.
(2) Navy personnel must not increase the HF/M3 SPL once a marine mammal is detected; and
(3) Ramp-up may recommence once marine mammals are no longer detected by all of the monitoring methods.
(f) Geographic mitigation. The Navy must implement the geographic mitigation requirements described in paragraphs (f)(1) through (f)(3) of this section.
(1) The activities specified in § 218.230(c) must be conducted such that:
(i) The received level of SURTASS LFA sonar transmissions will not exceed 180 dB re 1 µPa RMS SPL within 22 km (12 nautical miles (nmi)) from any emergent land, including offshore islands;
(ii) The received level of SURTASS LFA sonar transmissions will not exceed 180 dB re 1 µPa RMS SPL at a distance of 1 km (0.5 nmi) seaward of the outer perimeter of any Offshore Biologically Important Area (OBIA) in the SURTASS LFA Study Area during the effective period specified. OBIAs and the related effective periods are listed in paragraph (f)(2) of this section or may be subsequently identified through the adaptive management process specified in § 218.237(c)(1). The boundaries and effective periods of the OBIAs will be kept on file in NMFS' Office of Protected Resources (OPR) and on its website.
(iii) No more than 25 percent of the sound source amount analyzed (no more than 275 hours in a given year) of SURTASS LFA sonar for training and testing will be conducted within 18.5 km (10 nmi) of any single OBIA during any year; and
(iv) SURTASS LFA sonar activities will not occur within territorial seas of foreign nations, which are areas from 0-22 km (0-12 nmi) from shore.
(2) Figure 1 to this paragraph (f)(1) shows the location of the OBIAs. Table 1 to paragraph (f)(1) shows the specified timeframes when the requirements from paragraph (f)(1) apply.
| OBIA No. | Name | Location/water body | Relevant marine mammal species | Effective
period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Main Hawaiian Islands | Central North Pacific Ocean | Humpback whale | November through April. |
| 27 | Northwestern Hawaiian Islands | Central North Pacific Ocean | Humpback whale | December through April. |
| 28 | Mariana Islands | Western North Pacific Ocean | Humpback whale | December through May. |
| 29 | Ryukyu-Philippines | Western North Pacific Ocean | Humpback whale | January through April. |
| 30 | Ogasawara—Sperm whale | Western North Pacific Ocean | Sperm whale | June through September. |
| 31 | Ogasawara-Kazin—Humpback whale | Western North Pacific Ocean | Humpback whale | December through May. |
| 32 | Honshu | Western North Pacific Ocean | Gray whale | January through May. |
| 33 | Southeast Kamchatka | Western North Pacific Ocean | Fin, gray (Western North Pacific stock), humpback, and North Pacific right whale | Year-round. |
| 34 | Gulf of Thailand | Eastern Indian Ocean | Bryde's whale | April through November. |
| 35 | Western Australia—Blue whale | Eastern Indian Ocean | Blue (pygmy) whale | May through November. |
| 36 | Western Australia—Humpback whale | Eastern Indian Ocean | Humpback whale | May through December. |
| 37 | Southern Bali | Eastern Indian Ocean | Blue (pygmy), Bryde's, humpback, Omura's, sei, and sperm whale | August through November. |
| 38 | Swatch-of-No-Ground (SoNG) | Northern Bay of Bengal | Bryde's whale | Year-round. |
| 39 | Sri Lanka | Eastern Indian Ocean | Blue (pygmy) and sperm whale | October through April. |
| 40 | Maldives Archipelago | Central Indian Ocean | Blue (pygmy), Bryde's, humpback, and sperm whale | October through May. |
| 41 | Northeast Arabian Sea | Arabian Sea | Blue, Bryde's, and humpback (Arabian Sea stock) whale | Year-round. |
| 42 | South of Java Island | East Indian Ocean | Blue (pygmy) whale | May through November. |
| 43 | South of Lombok Sumbawa Islands | East Indian Ocean | Blue (pygmy) whale | May through November. |
| 44 | Southeast Kamchatka Offshore | Western North Pacific Ocean | North Pacific right whale | April through October. |
(3) Should national security require the Navy to exceed a requirement in paragraph (f)(1)(iii) of this section, personnel conducting the activity are required to obtain approval through the chain of command prior to commencement of the activity. The Navy must provide NMFS with notification as soon as is practicable and include the information (e.g., sonar hours in exceedance of 25 percent) in its annual activity reports submitted to NMFS.
(g) Cetacean live stranding. In the event of a cetacean live stranding (or near-shore atypical milling) event within the Study Area or within 50 km (27 nmi) of the boundary of the Study Area, where the NMFS Marine Mammal Stranding Network is engaged in herding or other interventions to return animals to the water, NMFS OPR will advise the Navy of the need to implement shutdown procedures for all active acoustic sources within 50 km of the stranding. Following this initial shutdown, NMFS will communicate with the Navy to determine whether circumstances support modification of the shutdown zone. The Navy may decline to implement all or part of the shutdown if the holder of the LOA, or his/her designee, determines that it is necessary for national security. Shutdown procedures for live stranding or milling cetaceans include the following:
(1) Shutdown no longer needed. If at any time, the marine mammal(s) die or are euthanized, or if herding/intervention efforts are stopped, NMFS will immediately advise that the shutdown around the animals' location is no longer needed;
(2) Shutdown procedures remain in effect. Otherwise, shutdown procedures must remain in effect until NMFS determines and advises that all live animals involved have left the area (either of their own volition or following an intervention); and
(3) Further observations. If further observations of the marine mammals indicate the potential for re-stranding, additional coordination with NMFS will be required to determine what measures are necessary to minimize that likelihood (e.g., extending the shutdown or moving operations farther away) and to implement those measures as appropriate.