Endangered Species Act Section 7 Biological Opinion: Issuance of Incidental Harassment Authorization under section 101(a)(5)(a) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act to Shell Offshore, Inc. for exploratory drilling in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea in 2012.

Details

• NOAA Program & Office:
  NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service)
• Description:
  This opinion will address authorization by NMFS of the incidental and unintentional taking of bowhead whales and ringed and bearded seals due to exploratory oil drilling by Shell Offshore, Inc. (Shell) on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) waters of the Beaufort Sea. Section 101 (a)(5) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), directs the Secretary of Commerce to allow, upon request by U.S. citizens engaged in a specific activity (other than commercial fishing) in a specified geographical region, the incidental but not intentional taking of small numbers of marine mammals if certain findings are made. Such authorization may be accomplished through regulations and issuance of letters of authorization under those regulations, or through issuance of an incidental harassment authorization (IHA).
• Series:
  ESA Section 7 Consultation
• Format:
  PDF
• Document Type:
  Biological Opinion
• Place as Subject:
  Beaufort Sea
• Rights Information:
  Public Domain
• Compliance:
  Library
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/17156/noaa_17156_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.95 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:229431e866ecf4e2b23fbc90ae5e7e75a4db0f3029ce0dccb7b0d6f8d7cbfdf3