Small Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Low-Energy Seismic Surveys in the South Pacific Ocean

Résumé

NMFS has received an application from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), a part of the University of California, for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting an oceanographic survey in the South Pacific Ocean (SPO). Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an authorization to SIO to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of several species of cetaceans for a limited period of time in December 2006, and January 2007.