NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service recently announced the issuance of an 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 will provide a baseline assessment of seabed, ecological, and archeological conditions within the footprint of offshore wind facility development.
Activities will 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.
