The Minerals Management Service (MMS) hereby petitions, as a precautionary measure, for rulemaking under section 10 I (a)(5) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to authorize any potential take of marine mammals incidental to seismic surveys “specified activity”) in the Gulf of Mexico (“specified geographic region”) .
This taking will involve only small numbers of marine mammals, have no more than a negligible impact on the species or stock, and have no unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or stock for subsistence uses.
The MMS includes the potential incidental take of the only commonly occurring listed marine mammal in the Gulf of Mexico, the sperm whale, as well as the unlisted marine mammal species including dolphins, beaked whales and Bryde’s whales, in this petition for rulemaking. This petition supplements the original petition submitted on December 26, 2002, that addressed only sperm whales.
See http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/permits/mms_gom_seismic_application2004.pdf
