NMFS Biological Opinion on U.S. Navy training ... - Govsupport.us

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FINAL PROGRAMMATIC BIOLOGICAL OPINION ON U.S. NAVY ACTIVITIES IN THE HAWAII RANGE COMPLEX 2008-2013 associated with the Playa Grande nesting site was fishery related. In the Pacific Ocean, between 1,000 and 1,300 leatherback sea turtles are estimated to have been captured and killed in longline fisheries in 2000 (Lewison et al. 2004). Shallow-set longline fisheries based out of Hawai'i are estimated to have captured and killed several hundred leatherback sea turtles before they were closed in 2001. When they were re-opened in 2004, with substantial modifications to protect sea turtles, these fisheries were estimated to have captured and killed about 1 or 2 leatherback sea turtles each year. Between 2004 and 2008, shallow-set fisheries based out of Hawai'i are estimated to have captured about 19 leatherback sea turtles, killing about 5 of these sea turtles. A recent biological opinion on these fisheries expected this rate of interaction and deaths to continue into the foreseeable future (<strong>NMFS</strong> 2008). Leatherback sea turtles have also been and are expected to continue to be captured and killed in the deep-set based longline fisheries based out of Hawai'i and American Samoa. Loggerhead sea turtles are also captured and killed in commercial fisheries. In the Pacific Ocean, between 2,600 and 6,000 loggerhead sea turtles are estimated to have been captured and killed in longline fisheries in 2000 (Lewison et al. 2004). Shallow-set Hawai'i based longline fisheries are estimated to have captured and killed several hundred loggerhead sea turtles before they were closed in 2001. When they were re-opened in 2004, with substantial modifications to protect sea turtles, these fisheries were estimated to have captured and killed about fewer than 5 loggerhead sea turtles each year. Between 2004 and 2008, shallow-set fisheries based out of Hawai'i are estimated to have captured about 45 loggerhead sea turtles, killing about 10 of these sea turtles. A recent biological opinion on these fisheries expected this rate of interaction and deaths to continue into the foreseeable future (<strong>NMFS</strong> 2008). Loggerhead sea turtles have also been and are expected to continue to be captured and killed in the deep-set based longline fisheries based out of Hawai'i and American Samoa. Ship Strikes Collisions with commercial ships are an increasing threat to many large whale species, particularly as shipping lanes cross important large whale breeding and feeding habitats or migratory routes. The number of observed physical injuries to humpback whales as a result of ship collisions has increased in Hawai’ian waters (Glockner-Ferrari et al. 1987). On the Pacific coast, a humpback whale is probably killed about every other year by ship strikes (Barlow et al. 1997). From 1996-2002, eight humpback whales were reported struck by vessels in Alaskan waters. In 1996, a humpback whale calf was found stranded on Oahu with evidence of vessel collision (propeller cuts; <strong>NMFS</strong> unpublished data). From 1994 – 1998, two fin whales were presumed to have been killed in ship strikes. In 2006- 2007, the stranding network in Hawai'i reported eight ship strikes, three of which were reported to have injured the whale involved (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2006). Despite these reports, the magnitude of the risks commercial ship traffic poses to large whales in the Action Area is difficult to quantify or estimate. We struggle to estimate the number of whales that are killed or seriously injured in ship strikes within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and have virtually no information on interactions between ships and commercial vessels outside of U.S. waters in the North Pacific Ocean. With the information available, we know those interactions occur but we cannot estimate their significance to the different species of whales in the Action Area 140
FINAL PROGRAMMATIC BIOLOGICAL OPINION ON U.S. NAVY ACTIVITIES IN THE HAWAII RANGE COMPLEX 2008-2013 Habitat Degradation Chronic exposure to the neurotoxins associated with paralytic shellfish poisoning from zooplankton prey has been shown to have detrimental effects on marine mammals. Estimated ingestion rates are sufficiently high to suggest that the PSP toxins are affecting marine mammals, possibly resulting in lower respiratory function, changes in feeding behavior and a lower reproduction fitness (Durbin et al. 2002). Other human activities, including discharges from wastewater systems, dredging, ocean dumping and disposal, aquaculture and additional impacts from coastal development are also known to impact marine mammals and their habitat. In the North Pacific, undersea exploitation and development of mineral deposits, as well as dredging of major shipping channels pose a continued threat to the coastal habitat of right whales. Point-source pollutants from coastal runoff, offshore mineral and gravel mining, atsea disposal of dredged materials and sewage effluent, potential oil spills, as well as substantial commercial vessel traffic, and the impact of trawling and other fishing gear on the ocean floor are continued threats to marine mammals in the proposed action area. The impacts from these activities are difficult to measure. However, some researchers have correlated contaminant exposure to possible adverse health effects in marine mammals. Studies of captive harbor seals have demonstrated a link between exposure to organochlorines (e.g., DDT, PCBs, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons) and immunosuppression (Ross et al. 1995, Harder et al. 1992, De Swart et al. 1996). Organochlorines are chemicals that tend to bioaccumulate through the food chain, thereby increasing the potential of indirect exposure to a marine mammal via its food source. During pregnancy and nursing, some of these contaminants can be passed from the mother to developing offspring. Contaminants like organochlorines do not tend to accumulate in significant amounts in invertebrates, but do accumulate in fish and fish-eating animals. Thus, contaminant levels in planktivorous mysticetes have been reported to be one to two orders of magnitude lower compared to piscivorous odontocetes (Borell, 1993, O’Shea and Brownell, 1994, O’Hara and Rice, 1996; O’Hara et al. 1999). Anthropogenic Noise. The marine mammals that occur in the action area are regularly exposed to several sources of natural and anthropogenic sounds. Anthropogenic noises that could affect ambient noise arise from the following general types of activities in and near the sea, any combination of which can contribute to the total noise at any one place and time. These noises include transportation, dredging, construction; oil, gas, and mineral exploration in offshore areas; geophysical (seismic) surveys; sonars; explosions; and ocean research activities (Richardson et al. 1995). Noise in the marine environment has received a lot of attention in recent years and is likely to continue to receive attention in the foreseeable future. Several investigators have argued that anthropogenic sources of noise have increased ambient noise levels in the ocean over the last 50 years (Jasny et al. 2005; NRC 1994, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2005; Richardson et al. 1995). Much of this increase is due to increased shipping as ships become more numerous and of larger tonnage (NRC 2003). Commercial fishing vessels, cruise ships, transport boats, airplanes, helicopters and recreational boats all contribute sound into the ocean (NRC 2003). The military uses sound to test the construction of new vessels as well as for naval operations. In some areas where oil and gas production takes place, noise originates from the drilling and production platforms, tankers, vessel and aircraft support, seismic surveys, and the explosive removal of platforms (NRC 2003). Many researchers have described behavioral responses of marine mammals to the sounds produced by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, boats and ships, as well as dredging, construction, geological explorations, etc. (Richardson et al. 1995). Most observations have been limited to short- 141
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