The Regulation of Seismic Exploration in the United States

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration seeks comment on a request from Hilcorp Alaska, LLC (Hilcorp) for authorization to take small numbers of marine mammals incidental to oil and gas activities in Cook Inlet, Alaska over the course of five years from the date of issuance. NMFS invites the public to provide information, suggestions, and comments on the Hilcorp’s application and request. Comments and information must be received no later than November 26, 2018.

Click here for more information and relevant links.

The Department of Commerce is seeking nominations for membership on the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee. The Committee advises the Secretaries of Commerce and Interior on implementing Section 4 of Executive Order 13158, focusing mainly on strategies and priorities for the design, monitoring and adaptive management of effective MPAs in U.S. waters.

Nominations are sought for 11 highly qualified non-Federal scientists (natural and social), resource managers, and people representing other interests or organizations involved with, or affected by, marine protected areas, including in the Great Lakes.

Nominations must be received before or on December 1, 2018

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service seeks comment on NMFS’

Draft Revised Recovery Plan for the Blue Whale (Balaenopteramusculus). NMFS will consider all substantive comments received during the review period before submitting the Plan for final approval. NMFS is also initiating a 5-year review of the blue whale and requests new information on its status. NMFS must receive comments on the Draft Plan and information for the 5-year review by December 11, 2018. Click here for more information and relevant links.

(Thursday, October 25, 2018 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM EST)
TGS,  10451 Clay Rd. , Houston, TX 77041

The International Association of Geophysical Contractors posted the following on the IAGC website:

“The IAGC and IADC are jointly holding an MMPA Workshop on 25 October 2018. The workshop will highlight the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and how it impacts access and exploration within the U.S. and international implications.

The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers distributed the following release about theirIOGP Report 2017e – Environmental Performance Indicators, 2017 data:

“We are pleased to announce the publication a new report.

Part of IOGP’s Data Series, this report summarises information on exploration and production (E&P) activities carried out by contributing IOGP member companies in 2017. IOGP has collected environmental data from its member companies every year since 1999. The objective of this programme has been to allow member companies to compare their performance with other companies in the sector leading, it is hoped, to improved and more efficient performance. The programme also contributes to the industry’s wish to be more transparent about its operations.

The Discovery of Sound in the Sea distributed and posted the following release about their free distribution of books:

“The Discovery of Sound in the Sea (DOSITS) Project is pleased to announce that the DOSITS electronic books (in iBooks format) will be available to download for FREE through the iTunes store for macOS and iOS (iPad and iPhone) until October 31, 2018. To view sample pages and access the books via an iTunes link, please visit the DOSITS website at dosits.org/book/.

Discovery of Sound in the Sea Book I: Importance of Sound in the Sea focuses on sound in the ocean, both natural and human produced, and contains DOSITS content on topics related to marine animal sound production and reception and use of sound, along with a chapter on the potential effects of human produced sounds on marine animals.

The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers’ E & P Sound & Marine Life Joint Industry Programme states that it

“supports research to help increase understanding of the effect of sound on marine life generated by oil and gas exploration and production activity.  The research helps governments make regulatory decisions based on the best science and the industry develop effective mitigation strategies.  This helps us supply much needed energy to people around the world.”

The JIP research studies are available here.

The last two webinars of this four-part series will focus on topics related to fishes.

• Craig Radfordwill provide a review of Sound Production and Reception in Teleost Fishes on Tuesday, November 13, 2018 at 12:00pm EDT
• Arthur Popperwill provide a review of the Potential Effects of Sound on Marine Fishes on Tuesday, November 27, 2018 at 12:00pm EDT

Interested individuals must register in advance for each webinar. Register here.

Background

CRE has become aware of an invaluable source of information on oil and gas exploration as it relates to marine life. The information is made available through the research of the Joint Industry Programme presented on this website. CRE’s interest in the program is a result of the programme’s focus on providing  sound scientific information to support regulatory decisions.

The JIP states:

In 2006 a group of international oil and gas companies committed to uniting their resources to fund a research programme to improve understanding of the potential physicial and behavioural effects of the sound created by finding and producing oil and gas or different forms of marine life. This Joint Industry Programme (JIP) is the most extensive industry research programme in this field.

The Brazilian Natural oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency published the above-captioned press release, which reads in part as follows:

“The National Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP) launched on Tuesday (25/9), during Rio Oil & Gas, the Environmental Database, which brings together, on a single basis, research data related to the environmental licensing during the oil exploration and production phases. The project is a partnership between the Agency and IBAMA.

The objective is for the ANP to collaborate with IBAMA in the process of granting environmental licenses, as it broadens access to reliable and georeferenced technical data.