NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Thursday, Mar. 26 on its proposed authorization and potential 1-year renewal for Skipjack Offshore Energy, LLC to take 16 marine mammal species by Level B harassment incidental to marine site characterization high-resolution geophysical surveys offshore Delaware. The surveys would provide a baseline assessment of seabed, ecological, and archeological conditions within the footprint of offshore wind facility development.
Activities would include the use of up to four vessels, shallow penetration, non-impulsive, non-parametric sub-bottom profilers, medium penetration impulsive sources, non-impulsive, parametric sub-bottom profilers, acoustic corers, ultra-short baseline positioning systems, multibeam echosounders, and side scan sonars.
NMFS earlier this month also announced that it is seeking comments by Wednesday, Mar. 31 on its proposed authorization and potential 1-year renewal for Mayflower Wind Energy LLC to take a small number of 14 marine mammal species by Level B harassment incidental to site characterization surveys off Massachusetts and along a potential submarine cable route to landfall at Falmouth, MA.
The purpose of the surveys is to acquire high resolution geophysical and geotechnical data on the bathymetry, seafloor morphology, subsurface geology, environmental/ biological sites, seafloor obstructions, soil conditions, and locations of any man-made, historical, or archaeological resources within the wind energy area and along the proposed export cable route corridor.
Activities would include the use of up to four vessels, shallow penetration, non-impulsive, non-parametric sub-bottom profilers, medium penetration impulsive sources, non-impulsive, parametric sub-bottom profilers, ultra-short baseline positioning systems, multibeam echosounders, and side scan sonars.
Lastly, NMFS last week announced that it is seeking comments by Thursday, Mar. 25 on its proposed modification of an authorization and potential 1-year renewal for Dominion Energy Virginia to take 9 marine mammal species by Level B harassment incidental to site characterization surveys off Virginia and in coastal waters where an export cable will be established.
NMFS noted that Dominion has been recording taking of common dolphin that would exceed authorized take limits, and that the modification would increase the amount of authorized take. NMFS previously modified the authorization to allow for increased take of spotted dolphin.
