Regulacje i polityka gospodarcza · 17.11.1998

Marine Mammals; Incidental Take During Specified Activities

The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is proposing regulations that would authorize for the next 5 years the incidental, unintentional take of small numbers of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) during year-round oil and gas industry operations (exploration, development, and production) in the Beaufort Sea and adjacent northern coast of Alaska. Under the provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (Act), the Service will allow the taking of these marine mammals only if the Director of the Service finds, based on the best scientific evidence available, that the total of such taking for the 5 year period will have a negligible impact on these species and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of these species for subsistence uses by Alaska Natives. If these findings are made, the Service will establish specific regulations for the activity that set forth: permissible methods of taking; means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact on the species and their habitat and on the availability of the species for subsistence uses; and requirements for monitoring and reporting. Through the preparation of a dra