FWS publishes incidental take regs

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Alaska Region said Aug. 2 that incidental take regulations for the non-lethal, incidental take of small numbers of polar bears and Pacific walrus associated with ongoing oil and gas activities in the Beaufort Sea and the adjacent northern coast of Alaska have been published in the Federal Register.

The agency said the regulations, in place since 1993, have been successful in minimizing the effects of industrial activities on polar bears and walrus, while monitoring the levels of such interactions.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act protects polar bears and Pacific walrus in Alaska by prohibiting “take” of these animals, and by providing for specific exceptions to the prohibition, including a provision allowing U.S. citizens to take small numbers of marine mammals incidental to specified activities.

The MMPA authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to allow, upon request, the non-lethal and incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens engaged in specific activity (other than commercial fishing), within a specified geographic region.

Incidental take regulations can be issued for up to five years if the taking is limited to harassment.

The agency said it was petitioned by the Alaska Oil and Gas Association to develop the regulations and said that activities under the regulations must adopt measures to minimize any adverse impacts to marine mammals, their habitat and their ability for Alaska Native subsistence use. Monitoring and reporting requirements are also specified.

The regulations announced Aug. 2 were proposed on March 11; they go into effect on Aug. 3 and remain effective through Aug. 3, 2016.

—Petroleum News