Small Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Seismic Survey in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean off Central America

Özet

NMFS has received an application from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (L-DEO), a part of Columbia University, for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting oceanographic seismic surveys in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETPO) off Central America. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an authorization to L-DEO to incidentally take, by harassment, small numbers of several species of cetaceans and pinnipeds for a limited period of time within the next year.