Dear All,
On behalf of several NGOs, NRDC has submitted extensive comments to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, about its plan to open up the U.S. mid-Atlantic and south Atlantic
to seismic surveys.
We are deeply concerned about the government’s analysis of marine mammal impacts.
The fundamental issue, as we see it, is that the agency does not take the problem of cumulative, sublethal effects seriously; and misapprehending their scale and potential significance,
it fails to consider alternatives sufficient to address it. BOEM does not attempt to identify biologically important habitat for protection, aside from a portion of North Atlantic right whale habitat; does not attempt to reduce the enormous amount of activity
that is contemplated, e.g., by restricting exploration from areas that are unlikely to be leased; and fails even to devise a long-term marine mammal monitoring plan for the region. Together with the greater impacts recently predicted from Navy activity, populations
in the U.S. Atlantic will be hard hit.
Please write me if you’d a copy of our comments. BOEM plans to make a final decision in November of December. We’ll keep the community apprised as this important issue moves
forward.
Best,
Michael
Michael Jasny
Senior Policy Analyst
Natural Resources Defense Council
4479 W. 5th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6R1S4
tel. 604-736-9386
mob. 310-560-5536
fax 310-434-2399