---

50 C.F.R. § 216.180   Specified activity and specified geographical region.

Title 50 - Wildlife and Fisheries

Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries
PART 216—REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TAKING AND IMPORTING OF MARINE MAMMALS
Subpart Q—Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Navy Operations of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active (SURTASS LFA) Sonar

Browse Next

§ 216.180   Specified activity and specified geographical region.

Regulations in this subpart apply only to the incidental taking of those marine mammal species specified in paragraph (b) of this section by the U.S. Navy, Department of Defense, while engaged in the operation of no more than two SURTASS LFA sonar systems conducting active sonar operations, in areas specified in paragraph (a) of this section. The authorized activities, as specified in a Letter of Authorization issued under §§216.106 and 216.188, include the transmission of low frequency sounds from the SURTASS LFA sonar and the transmission of high frequency sounds from the mitigation sonar described in §216.185 during training, testing, and routine military operations of SURTASS LFA sonar.

(a) With the exception of those areas specified in §216.183(d), the incidental taking by harassment may be authorized in the following areas as specified in a Letter of Authorization:

(1) Atlantic Polar Biome:

(i) Boreal Polar Province (1/BPLR)(i.e., LFA sonar 180-dB exclusion zone);

(ii) Atlantic Arctic Province (2/ARCT);

(iii) Atlantic Subarctic Province (3/SARC);

(2) North Atlantic Coastal Biome:

(i) Northeast Atlantic Shelves Province (11/NECS),

(A) North/Irish Sea Subprovince,

(B) English Channel Subprovince,

(C) Southern Outer Shelf Subprovince,

(D) Northern Outer Shelf Subprovince, and

(E) Baltic Subprovince; and

(ii) Northwest Atlantic Shelves Province (15/NWCS),

(A) Newfoundland/Nova Scotia Shelf Subprovince,

(B) Gulf of St. Lawrence Coastal Subprovince,

(C) Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy Coastal Subprovince,

(D) Georges Bank/New York Bight Coastal Subprovince,

(E) Middle Atlantic Bight Coastal Subprovince,

(F) South Atlantic Bight Coastal Subprovince;

(3) South Atlantic Coastal Biome:

(i) Benguela Current Coastal Province (22/BENG);

(ii) Brazil Current Coastal Province (20/BRAZ);

(iii) Eastern (Canary) Coastal Province (12/CNRY);

(iv) Southwest Atlantic Shelves Province (21/FKLD);

(v) Guianas Coastal Province (14/GUIA);

(vi) Guinea Current Coastal Province (13/GUIN),

(A) Guiana Coastal Subprovince, and

(B) Central African Coastal Subprovince;

(4) Atlantic Westerly Winds Biome:

(i) Gulf Stream Province (5/GFST);

(ii) North Atlantic Drift Province (4/NADR);

(iii) North Atlantic Subtropical Gyral East Province (18/NASTE); and

(iv) North Atlantic Subtropical Gyral West Province (6/NASTW);

(5) Atlantic Trade Wind Biome:

(i) Caribbean Province (17/CARB);

(A) Gulf of Mexico Subprovince;

(B) Caribbean Sea Subprovince;

(ii) Eastern Tropical Atlantic Province (9/ETRA);

(iii) North Atlantic Tropical Gyral Province (7/NATR);

(iv) South Atlantic Gyral Province (10/SATL);

(v) Western Tropical Atlantic Province (8/WTRA);

(6) Mediterranean/Black Sea Biome:

(i) Mediterranean Sea Province (16A/MEDI);

(ii) Black Sea Province (16B/BLSE);

(7) Indian Ocean Coastal Biome:

(i) Australia/Indonesia Coastal Province (37/AUSW);

(ii) Eastern India Coastal Province (35/INDE);

(iii) Northwestern Arabian Upwelling Province (34/ARAB);

(iv) Eastern Africa Coastal Province (32/EAFR);

(v) Western India Coastal Province (36/INDW);

(vi) Red Sea, Persian Gulf Province (33/REDS);

(8) Indian Ocean Trade Wind Biome:

(i) Indian South Subtropical Gyre Province (31/ISSG);

(ii) Indian Monsoon Gyres Province (30/MONS);

(9) North Pacific Coastal Biome:

(i) Alaska Downwelling Coastal Province (65/ALSK),

(A) Canadian/Alaskan Coastal Subprovince,

(B) Aleutian Stream Coastal Subprovince,

(ii) California Current Province (66/CALC),

(A) Oregon-British Columbia Coastal Subprovince,

(B) Point Conception/Cape Mendicino Coastal Subprovince,

(C) Southern California Bight Subprovince, and

(D) Baja California Subprovince;

(iii) Central American Coastal Province (67/CAMR);

(iv) China Sea Coastal Province (69/CHIN);

(10) South Pacific Coastal Biome:

(i) East Australian Coastal Province (71/AUSE);

(ii) Humboldt Current Coastal Province (68/HUMB);

(A) Chilean Coastal Subprovince and

(B) Peruvian Coastal Subprovince;

(iii) New Zealand Coastal Province (72/NEWZ);

(iv) Sunda/Arafura Shelves Province (70/SUND);

(11) Pacific Polar Biome:

(i) North Pacific Epicontinental Sea Province (50/BERS);

(A) Bering Sea Subprovince;

(B) Okhotsk Sea Subprovince;

(ii) Reserved;

(12) Pacific Trade Wind Biome:

(i) Archipelagic Deep Basins Province (64/ARCH);

(ii) North Pacific Tropical Gyre West Province (56/NPTGW);

(iii) North Pacific Tropical Gyre East Province (60/NPTGE);

(iv) Pacific Equatorial Divergence Province (62/PEQD);

(v) North Pacific Equatorial Countercurrent Province (61/PNEC);

(vi) South Pacific Subtropical Gyre Province (59/SPGS);

(vii) Western Pacific Warm Pool Province (63/WARM);

(13) Pacific Westerly Winds Biome:

(i) Kuroshio Current Province (53/KURO);

(ii) North Pacific Transition Zone Province (54/NPPF);

(iii) Pacific Subarctic Gyres (East) Province (51/PSAGE);

(iv) Pacific Subarctic Gyres (West) Province (52/PSAGW);

(14) Antarctic Westerly Winds Biome:

(i) Subantarctic Water Ring Province (81/SANT),

(A) Atlantic Subantarctic Ring Subprovince;

(B) Indian Ocean Subantarctic Ring Subprovince;

(C) Pacific Ocean Subantarctic Water Ring Subprovince;

(ii) Subtropical Convergence Province (80/SSTC),

(A) Atlantic South Subtropical Convergence Subprovince;

(B) Indian Ocean South Subtropical Convergence Subprovince;

(C) Pacific Ocean South Subtropical Convergence Subprovince;

(iii) Tasman Sea Province (58/TASM);

(15) Antarctic Polar Biome: (SURTASS LFA sonar exclusion zone);

(i) Antarctic Province (82/ANTA)

(ii) Austral Polar Province (83/APLR).

(b) The incidental take by Level A and Level B harassment of marine mammals under the activity identified in this section is limited to the following species and species groups:

(1) Mysticete whales—blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni), sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), pygmy right whale (Capera marginata), bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), and gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus).

(2) Odontocete whales—Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus), rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis), Fraser's dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei), right-whale dolphin (Lissodelphis spp.), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli), harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), Stenella spp. Lagenorhynchus spp., Cephalorhynchus spp. melon-headed whale (Peponocephala spp.), beaked whales (Berardius spp., Hyperoodon spp., Mesoplodon spp.), Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), Shepard's beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi), Longman's beaked whale (Indopacetus pacificus), killer whale (Orcinus orca), false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens), pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata), sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), dwarf and pygmy sperm whales (Kogia simus and K. breviceps), and short-finned and long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus and G. melas).

(3) Pinnipeds—harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), spotted seals (P. largha), ribbon seals (P. fasciata), gray seals (Halichoerus grypus), hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris and M. leonina). Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi), Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus), northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus); southern fur seals (Arctocephalus spp.), Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus), California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea), New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri), and South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens).

Browse Next