Dear colleagues, Oceanwatch Marine Mammal Observer Services Ltd has been contracted by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) of Trinidad and Tobago (in the Southern Caribbean) to develop guidelines for the reduction of acoustic disturbance to marine life from offshore seismic survey operations in Trinidad and Tobago. As these guidelines may have an effect on the marine mammal populations in Trinidad and Tobago waters (and by extension regional and global populations) members of the MARMAM mailing list have been identified as possible stakeholders in this issue and we welcome your input. It is our aim to develop guidelines which are backed by sound international scientific research, guided by knowledge of local ecosystems and species, in line with local laws and which address the social, economic and environmental concerns related to the conduct of offshore seismic survey operations. This project aims to produce: 1. guidelines for minimising acoustic disturbance to marine life from offshore seismic survey operations in Trinidad and Tobago; 2. recommendations for monitoring and evaluating the effects of offshore seismic survey operations in Trinidad and Tobago; 3. recommendations for future biodiversity and fisheries research to inform decisions regarding management and mitigation strategies for minimising the acoustic disturbance to marine life from offshore seismic survey operations in Trinidad and Tobago; 4. a review of the effects of offshore seismic surveys on marine biodiversity, communities and economics in Trinidad and Tobago; 5. guidelines for applying for a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) to conduct offshore seismic survey operations in Trinidad and Tobago (delineating the structure and information desired in the CEC application); 6. guidelines for the EMA’s decision-making during the processing of a CEC application for offshore seismic survey operations with regard to management and mitigation strategies for minimising the acoustic disturbance to marine life from offshore seismic survey operations (including requesting Environmental Impact Assessments). You and/or your organization are welcome to submit any concerns, suggestions and comments to Oceanwatch for consideration during this process. You can also see a list of the literature we have reviewed (and intend to review) on the project website ( ttseismicsurveyguide.wix.com/testing). This is a working list and we are still collecting information for review. If you have any information which may be relevant to this project and wish to share it please let us know. We expect to formulate draft versions of the guidelines and recommendations within the next 2 to 3 months. These will be posted up on the project website and we will send another email to inform you when they are available for review. Feel free to pass this message on to anyone who may be interested and please direct all communication regarding this project to the project email address: ttseismicsurveyguidelines@gmail.com. Best regards, Alësha Naranjit *Managing DirectorOceanwatch MMO Services Ltd.*