Title 50
SECTION 219.6
219.6 Requirements for monitoring and reporting.
§ 219.6 Requirements for monitoring and reporting.(a) Compliance coordinator. SWFSC must designate a compliance coordinator who shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with all requirements of any LOA issued pursuant to § 216.106 of this chapter and § 219.7 and for preparing for any subsequent request(s) for incidental take authorization.
(b) Visual monitoring program. (1) Marine mammal visual monitoring must occur prior to deployment of trawl, hook and line, and purse seine gear, respectively; throughout deployment of gear and active fishing of research gears (not including longline soak time); prior to retrieval of longline gear; and throughout retrieval of all research gear.
(2) Marine mammal watches must be conducted by watch-standers (those navigating the vessel and/or other crew) at all times when the vessel is being operated.
(3) SWFSC must monitor any potential disturbance of pinnipeds on ice, paying particular attention to the distance at which different species of pinniped are disturbed. Disturbance must be recorded according to a three-point scale representing increasing seal response to disturbance.
(c) Training. (1) SWFSC must conduct annual training for all chief scientists and other personnel who may be responsible for conducting dedicated marine mammal visual observations to explain mitigation measures and monitoring and reporting requirements, mitigation and monitoring protocols, marine mammal identification, completion of datasheets, and use of equipment. SWFSC may determine the agenda for these trainings.
(2) SWFSC must also dedicate a portion of training to discussion of best professional judgment, including use in any incidents of marine mammal interaction and instructive examples where use of best professional judgment was determined to be successful or unsuccessful.
(3) SWFSC must coordinate with NMFS' Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) regarding surveys conducted in the CCE, such that training and guidance related to handling procedures and data collection is consistent.
(d) Handling procedures and data collection. (1) SWFSC must implement standardized marine mammal handling, disentanglement, and data collection procedures. These standard procedures will be subject to approval by NMFS's Office of Protected Resources (OPR).
(2) When practicable, for any marine mammal interaction involving the release of a live animal, SWFSC must collect necessary data to facilitate a serious injury determination.
(3) SWFSC must provide its relevant personnel with standard guidance and training regarding handling of marine mammals, including how to identify different species, bring an individual aboard a vessel, assess the level of consciousness, remove fishing gear, return an individual to water, and log activities pertaining to the interaction.
(4) SWFSC must record such data on standardized forms, which will be subject to approval by OPR. SWFSC must also answer a standard series of supplemental questions regarding the details of any marine mammal interaction.
(e) Reporting. (1) SWFSC must report all incidents of marine mammal interaction to NMFS's Protected Species Incidental Take database within 48 hours of occurrence and must provide supplemental information to OPR upon request. Information related to marine mammal interaction (animal captured or entangled in research gear) must include details of survey effort, full descriptions of any observations of the animals, the context (vessel and conditions), decisions made, and rationale for decisions made in vessel and gear handling.
(2) SWFSC must submit annual reports including:
(i) An annual summary report to OPR not later than 90 days following the end of a given year. SWFSC must provide a final report within 30 days following resolution of comments on the draft report.
(ii) These reports must contain, at minimum, the following:
(A) Annual line-kilometers surveyed during which predominant active acoustic sources were used;
(B) Summary information regarding use of all hook and line, purse seine, and trawl gear, including number of sets, hook hours, tows, etc., specific to each gear;
(C) Accounts of all incidents of significant marine mammal interactions, including circumstances of the event and descriptions of any mitigation procedures implemented or not implemented and why, and, for interactions due to use of pelagic longline or purse seine, whether the move-on rule was waived due to the presence of five or fewer California sea lions;
(D) Summary information related to any on-ice disturbance of pinnipeds, including raw sightings data and the event-specific total counts of animals present, counts of reactions according to a three-point scale of response severity and numbers of takes (differentiated by species and age class), the distance at which a pinniped is disturbed and the closest point of approach for each disturbance event;
(E) A written evaluation of the effectiveness of SWFSC mitigation strategies in reducing the number of marine mammal interactions with survey gear, including best professional judgment and suggestions for changes to the mitigation strategies, if any;
(F) Final outcome of serious injury determinations for all incidents of marine mammal interactions where the animal(s) were released alive; and
(G) A summary of all relevant training provided by SWFSC and any coordination with NWFSC or NMFS' West Coast Regional Office.
(f) Reporting of injured or dead marine mammals. (1) In the event that personnel involved in the survey activities covered by the authorization discover an injured or dead marine mammal, SWFSC must report the incident to OPR and to the appropriate West Coast Regional Stranding Coordinator as soon as feasible. The report must include the following information:
(i) Time, date, and location (latitude/longitude) of the first discovery (and updated location information if known and applicable);
(ii) Species identification (if known) or description of the animal(s) involved;
(iii) Condition of the animal(s) (including carcass condition if the animal is dead);
(iv) Observed behaviors of the animal(s), if alive;
(v) If available, photographs or video footage of the animal(s); and
(vi) General circumstances under which the animal was discovered.
(2) In the event of a ship strike of a marine mammal by any vessel involved in the activities covered by the authorization, SWFSC must report the incident to OPR and to the appropriate West Coast Regional Stranding Coordinator as soon as feasible. The report must include the following information:
(i) Time, date, and location (latitude/longitude) of the incident;
(ii) Species identification (if known) or description of the animal(s) involved;
(iii) Vessel's speed during and leading up to the incident;
(iv) Vessel's course/heading and what operations were being conducted (if applicable);
(v) Status of all sound sources in use;
(vi) Description of avoidance measures/requirements that were in place at the time of the strike and what additional measures were taken, if any, to avoid strike;
(vii) Environmental conditions (e.g., wind speed and direction, Beaufort sea state, cloud cover, visibility) immediately preceding the strike;
(viii) Estimated size and length of animal that was struck;
(ix) Description of the behavior of the marine mammal immediately preceding and following the strike;
(x) If available, description of the presence and behavior of any other marine mammals immediately preceding the strike;
(xi) Estimated fate of the animal (e.g., dead, injured but alive, injured and moving, blood or tissue observed in the water, status unknown, disappeared); and
(xii) To the extent practicable, photographs or video footage of the animal(s).