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 submarine warfare exercises transmits at frequencies below hearing thresholds for Hawai’ian monk seals. However, the U.S. Navy has concluded that at least one of these monk seals might accumulate acoustic energy sufficient to produce a temporary shift in its hearing sensitivity. Although this is an important conclusion, it does not allow us to assess the potential fitness consequences of the noise-induced loss in hearing sensitivity because we do not know the magnitude of the loss in hearing sensitivity (a 3 dB loss in sensitivity versus a 10 dB loss in sensitivity), how long the animal might be impaired (for example, does the animal recover in minutes, hours, or days), or the frequency range affected by the loss (that is, what environmental cues might the animal fail to detect). At a minimum, we would assume that a Hawai’ian monk seal that experiences a loss in hearing sensitivity would be aware of the impairment and would experience a stress response as a result. PROBABLE RESPONSE OF SEA TURTLES. The information available has not allowed us to estimate the probability of the different sea turtles being exposed to mid-frequency active sonar associated with the activities the U.S. Navy plans to conduct in the Hawai’i Range Complex each year from December 2008 through December 2013. Further, although the information on the hearing capabilities of sea turtles is limited, the information available suggests that the auditory capabilities of sea turtles are centered in the low-frequency range (
FINAL PROGRAMMATIC BIOLOGICAL OPINION ON U.S. NAVY ACTIVITIES IN THE HAWAII RANGE COMPLEX 2008-2013 proposes to conduct in the Hawai'i Range Complex transmits at frequencies that are substantially higher than the hearing thresholds of sea turtles. As a result, sea turtles are not likely to respond upon being exposed to midfrequency active sonar. 5.3.5 Probable Responses of Listed Species to Explosions The U.S. Navy proposes to employ a suite of measures to protect endangered and threatened marine mammals and sea turtles from being exposed to underwater detonations and mining operations during the activities they plan to conduct in the Hawai'i Range Complex (including sinking exercises). These measures involve site-selection procedures, exclusion zones, and monitoring protocols that comply with Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act permits as well as procedures developed and tested during the ship shock trial on the USS WINSTON S CHURCHILL. These monitoring protocols were studied extensively (Clarke and Norman 2005) and those studies concluded that the monitoring protocols effectively insured that marine mammals or sea turtles did not occur within 3.7 kilometers of the underwater detonations. Despite these protective measures, the U.S. Navy identified five instances in which humpback whales might be exposed to pressure waves or sound fields associated with underwater detonations at received levels that would cause behaviors that would be considered behavioral harassment (as that term is defined by the MMPA) and in another four instances in which humpback whales might be exposed at received levels that might temporarily cause noise-induced hearing losses. that five humpback whales might be exposed to pressure waves or sound fields associated with underwater detonations and another four humpback whales might be exposed at received levels that might temporarily cause noise-induced hearing losses. In addition, in nine instances in which sperm whales might be exposed to pressure waves or sound fields associated with underwater detonations at received levels that would cause behaviors that would be considered behavioral harassment (as that term is defined by the MMPA) and in another four instances in which sperm whales might be exposed at received levels that might temporarily cause noise-induced hearing losses. that five humpback whales might be exposed to pressure waves or sound fields associated with underwater detonations and another four humpback whales might be exposed at received levels that might temporarily cause noise-induced hearing losses. In three instances, Hawai’ian monk seals might be exposed at received levels sufficient to temporarily cause noise-induced hearing loss. The Navy’s analyses and our analyses did not estimate the number of instances in which one or more species of sea turtle might be exposed to pressure waves or sound field associated with underwater detonations. Humpback whales were not reported to change the short-term behavior or distribution in feeding areas in response to explosions with received levels of about 150dB re 1 μPa/Hz at 350Hz (Lien et al. 1993, Todd et al. 1996). However, at least two individuals were probably killed by the high-intensity, impulsed blasts and had extensive mechanical injuries in their ears (Ketten et al. 1993, Todd et al. 1996). The explosions may also have increased the number of humpback whales entangled in fishing nets as they avoided the area in which the detonations occurred (Todd et al. 1996). Klima et. al. (1988) conducted an experiment in which Kemp’s ridley and loggerhead turtles were placed in cages at four distances from a oil platform to be removed with explosives. The cages were submerged to a depth of 15 ft over the 30 ft sea bottom just prior to the simultaneous explosion of four 50.75 lb charges of nitromethane placed inside 233
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