Composite Training Unit Exercises and Joint Task ... - Govsupport.us

CD-086-06, Navy Training ExercisesSouthern CaliforniaPage 11their assigned missions and will monitor the area throughout any mid-frequency sonarexercises on the instrumented range. All other aircraft flying low enough to reasonablyspot a marine mammal will watch for marine mammals. The Navy shall require that allaerial sightings of marine mammals be reported to the appropriate watch stations forappropriate action. Appropriate action means taking mitigation measures anddisseminating the information to other units and watchstanders for increased situationalawareness.6. Gray Whale Migration Season. To the maximum extent feasible, the Navy shalllocate and schedule training outside the gray whale migration season, where the sonar is nearenough to known or observed gray whale migration paths to expose gray whales to sonar levelsabove 154 dB. If conducting exercises during the migration season the Navy shall avoidknown gray whale migration corridors.7. Areas of High Marine Mammal Populations. To the maximum extent feasible, theNavy shall avoid training in areas with known high concentrations of marine mammals,including but not limited to:avoiding active sonar transmissions within the National Marine Sanctuaries offCalifornia’s coast (e.g., the Channel Islands NMS); andavoiding seamounts and coastal areas with complex, steep seabed topography,except on the Navy’s instrumented range off San Clemente Island.8. Night and low visibility conditions. The Navy shall employ the RIMPAC-derivedmeasures, which state:Low visibility conditions (i.e., whenever the entire safety zone cannot beeffectively monitored due to nighttime, high sea state, fog or other factors)– The Navy will use additional detection measures, such as infrared (IR) orenhanced passive acoustic detection. If detection of marine mammals is notpossible out to the prescribed safety zone, the Navy will power down sonar by 6dB as if marine mammals were present in the zones it cannot see.9. Stranding Response and Reporting. The Navy shall employ the RIMPACderivedmeasures, which state:• The Navy will coordinate with the NMFS Stranding Coordinator for any unusualmarine mammal behavior, including stranding, beached live or dead cetacean(s),floating marine mammals, or out-of-habitat/milling live cetaceans that may occur atany time during or shortly after major exercises.