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 the U.S. Navy does not conduct activities during this time interval, humpback whales would not be exposed. We assume that any age or gender might be exposed to these received levels. SEI WHALES. During future Rim of the Pacific exercises, the Navy’s estimates identified 14 instances in which sei whales might be exposed to received levels that cause them to respond in behaviors that <strong>NMFS</strong> would classify as harassment (as that term is defined for the purposes of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972). During the other anti-submarine exercises the U.S. Navy plans to conduct in the Hawai’i Range Complex from December 2008 through December 2013, the Navy’s estimates identified another 46 instances in which sei whales might exhibit behaviors that <strong>NMFS</strong> would classify as harassment. No sei whales would be accumulate energy sufficient to result in temporary or permanent shifts in hearing sensitivity. SPERM WHALES. During future Rim of the Pacific exercise, the Navy’s estimates identified 245 instances in which sperm whales might be exposed to received levels that cause them to respond with behaviors that <strong>NMFS</strong> would classify as harassment (as that term is defined for the purposes of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972). Of this total, the Navy estimated that there might be 3 instances in which sperm whales might accumulate energy sufficient to result in temporary shifts in hearing sensitivity, but no instances in which sperm whales would accumulate energy sufficient to result in permanent losses in hearing sensitivity. During the other anti-submarine exercises the U.S. Navy plans to conduct in the Hawai’i Range Complex from December 2008 through December 2013, the Navy’s estimates identified another 758 instances in which sperm whales might be exposed to received levels that cause them to exhibit behaviors that <strong>NMFS</strong> would classify as harassment. Of this total, the Navy estimated that there might be 9 instances in which sperm whales might accumulate energy sufficient to result in temporary shifts in hearing sensitivity, but no instances in which sperm whales would accumulate energy sufficient to result in permanent losses in hearing sensitivity. The sperm whales that might be exposed to the activities the U.S. Navy plans to conduct in the Hawai’i Range Complex would represent individuals from a Hawai’ian population (or “stock”). Sperm whales are widely distributed throughout the Hawai’ian Islands year-round (Rice 1960; Shallenberger 1981; Lee 1993; and Mobley et al. 2000). Sperm whale clicks recorded from hydrophones off Oahu confirm the presence of sperm whales near the Hawai’ian Islands throughout the year (Thompson and Friedl 1982). The primary area in which sperm whales occur is seaward of the shelf break in the Hawai’ian Islands Hawai’ian Islands Operating Area. Sperm whales rarely occur between the shore to the shelf break. HAWAI’I MONK SEALS. During future Rim of the Pacific exercises, the Navy’s estimates identified 35 instances in which Hawai’ian monk seals might be exposed to received levels that cause them to exhibit behaviors that <strong>NMFS</strong> would classify as harassment (as that term is defined for the purposes of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972). Of this total, the Navy estimated that there might be 1 instance in which monk seal might accumulate energy sufficient to result in temporary shifts in hearing sensitivity, but no instances in which monk seals would accumulate energy sufficient to result in permanent losses in hearing sensitivity. During the other anti-submarine exercises the U.S. Navy plans to conduct in the Hawai’i Range Complex from December 2008 through December 2013, the Navy’s estimates identified another 104 instances in which Hawai’ian 176
FINAL PROGRAMMATIC BIOLOGICAL OPINION ON U.S. NAVY ACTIVITIES IN THE HAWAII RANGE COMPLEX 2008-2013 monk seals might be exposed to received levels that cause them to exhibit behaviors that <strong>NMFS</strong> would classify as harassment. Three of these monk seals would accumulate energy sufficient to result in temporary shifts in hearing sensitivity. 5.2.1.3 Exposure Estimates Developed for This <strong>Opinion</strong> As described in the Approach to the Assessment section of this <strong>Opinion</strong>, the U.S. Navy and the Permits Division used models to estimate the number of marine mammals that might be “taken,” as that term is defined by the MMPA, by active sonar and underwater detonations. Our jeopardy analyses, however, must consider all potential effects of proposed actions, including direct or indirect beneficial and adverse effects that do not necessarily rise to the level of “take,” as that term is defined by the ESA 6 . For example, jeopardy analyses must consider the direct beneficial or adverse effects of actions on endangered or threatened individuals as well as indirect effects that result from how competitors, prey, symbionts, or the habitat of those listed individuals respond to an action. Therefore, we cannot begin our analyses with estimates of the number of individuals that might be “taken” (as that term is defined by the MMPA) because our analyses must consider direct and indirect effects that do not necessarily represent one or more form of “take.” As discussed in the Approach to the Assessment section of this <strong>Opinion</strong>, we conduct our jeopardy analyses by first identifying the potential stressors associated with an action, then we determine whether endangered species, threatened species, or designated critical habitat are likely to occur in the same space and at the same time as these potential stressors. If we conclude that such co-occurrence is likely, we then try to estimate the nature of that cooccurrence. These two steps represent our exposure analyses, which are designed to identify the number, age (or life stage), and gender of the individuals that are likely to be exposed to an Action’s effects and the populations or subpopulations those individuals represent. For our exposure analyses, <strong>NMFS</strong> developed a model to estimate the number of times endangered or threatened marine mammals might be exposed to active sonar or underwater detonations from an ecological model that estimates the rate at which a predator encounters prey. Holling (1959) studied predation of small mammals on pine sawflies and found that predation rates increased with increasing densities of prey populations. In that paper, Holling described a model that is commonly called the “disc equation” because it describes the path of foraging predators as a moving disc that represents the predator’s sensory field (normally with two-dimensions) as it searches for prey. Holling developed the disc equation to describe a predator’s functional response to prey densities; however, a component of that equation estimates the number of prey a predator is likely to encounter during a hunt. <strong>NMFS</strong> adapted this component of the Holling’s disc equation by treating that Navy vessels as the “predators” in the model. The sensory field (2r, in square kilometers) we used represented the sound field of an active sonar system, and their speed (s) represented 10 knots, and whose search time represented the duration of an exercise (in hours). We used the “detectability” variable to reflect the amount of time a marine mammal might spent at depths within the sound field of an active sonar system (in the case of whales), the amount of time a pinniped spent in the water (in this case, 6 Section 3 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, defines “take” as “to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct” (16 U.S.C 1533). 177
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