(a) The Holder of the Letter of Authorization issued pursuant to Sec. 216.106 of this chapter and Sec. 218.47 for activities described in Sec. 218.40(c) is required to conduct the monitoring and reporting measures specified in this section and Sec. 218.44 and any additional monitoring measures contained in the Letter of Authorization.
(b) The Holder of the Letter of Authorization is required to cooperate with the National Marine Fisheries Service, and any other Federal, state, or local agency monitoring the impacts of the activity on marine mammals. Unless specified otherwise in the Letter of Authorization, the Holder of the Letter of Authorization must notify the Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, or designee, by letter or telephone (301-427-8401), at least 2 weeks prior to any modification to the activity identified in Sec. 218.40(c) that has the potential to result in the serious injury, mortality, or Level A or Level B harassment of a marine mammal that was not identified and addressed previously.
(c) Monitoring Procedures for Missions at BT-9 and BT-11:
(1) The Holder of this Authorization shall:
(i) Designate qualified on-site individual(s) to record the effects of training exercises on marine mammals that inhabit Pamlico Sound;
(ii) Require operators of small boats, and other personnel monitoring for marine mammals from watercraft to take the Marine Species Awareness Training (Version 2), provided by the Department of the Navy.
(iii) Instruct pilots conducting range sweeps on marine mammal observation techniques during routine Range Management Department briefings. This training would make personnel knowledgeable of marine mammals, protected species, and visual cues related to the presence of marine mammals and protected species.
(iv) Continue the Long-Term Monitoring Program to obtain abundance, group dynamics (e.g., group size, age census), behavior, habitat use, and acoustic data on the bottlenose dolphins which inhabit Pamlico Sound, specifically those around BT-9 and BT-11.
(v) Continue the Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) Program to provide additional insight into how dolphins use BT-9 and BT-11 and to monitor for vocalizations.
(vi) Continue to refine the real-time passive acoustic monitoring system at BT-9 to allow automated detection of bottlenose dolphin whistles.
(d) Reporting:
(1) Unless specified otherwise in the Letter of Authorization, the Holder of the Letter of Authorization shall conduct all of the monitoring and reporting required under the LOA and shall submit an annual and comprehensive report to the Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service by a date certain to be specified in the LOA. This report must include the following information:
(i) Date and time of each training exercise;
(ii) A complete description of the pre-exercise and post-exercise activities related to mitigating and monitoring the effects of the training exercises on marine mammal populations;
(iii) Results of the Marine Corps monitoring, including numbers by species/stock of any marine mammals injured or killed as a result of the training exercises and number of marine mammals (by species, if possible) that may have been harassed due to presence within the applicable safety zone;
(iv) A detailed assessment of the effectiveness of the sensor-based monitoring in detecting marine mammals in the area of the training exercises; and
(v) Results of coordination with coastal marine mammal stranding networks. The Marine Corps shall coordinate with the local NMFS Stranding Coordinator to discuss any unusual marine mammal behavior and any stranding, beached (live or dead), or floating marine mammals that may occur at any time during training activities or within 24 hours after completion of training.
(2) The Marine Corps will submit an annual report to NMFS by June 1st of each year starting in 2016. The first report will cover the time period from issuance of the March 2015 Letter of Authorization through March 12, 2016. Each annual report after that time will cover the time period from March 13 through March 12, annually.
(3) The Marine Corps shall submit a draft comprehensive report on all marine mammal monitoring and research conducted during the period of these regulations to the Director, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS at least 180 days prior to expiration of these regulations or 180 days after the expiration of these regulations if the Marine Corps will not request new regulations.
(i) The draft comprehensive report will be subject to review and comment by NMFS. Prior to acceptance by NMFS, the Marine Corps must address any recommendations made by NMFS, within 60 days of its receipt, in the final comprehensive report.
(ii) [Reserved]
(4) General Notification of Injured or Dead Marine Mammals:
(i) The Marine Corps shall systematically observe training operations for injured or disabled marine mammals. In addition, the Marine Corps shall monitor the principal marine mammal stranding networks and other media to correlate analysis of any dolphin strandings that could potentially be associated with BT-9 or BT-11 training operations.
(ii) Marine Corps personnel shall notify NMFS immediately, or as soon as clearance procedures allow, if personnel find an injured, stranded, or dead marine mammal during or shortly after, and in the vicinity of, any training operations. The Marine Corps shall provide NMFS with species or description of the animal(s), the condition of the animal(s) (including carcass condition if the animal is dead), location, time of first discovery, observed behaviors (if alive), and photo or video (if available).
(iii) In the event that an injured, stranded, or dead marine mammal is found by Marine Corps personnel that is not in the vicinity of, or found during or shortly after operations, the Marine Corps personnel will report the same information listed above as soon as operationally feasible and clearance procedures allow.
(5) General Notification of a Ship Strike:
(i) In the event of a vessel strike, at any time or place, the Marine Corps shall do the following:
(ii) Immediately report to NMFS the species identification (if known), location (lat/long) of the animal (or the strike if the animal has disappeared), and whether the animal is alive or dead (or unknown);
(iii) Report to NMFS as soon as operationally feasible the size and length of the animal, an estimate of the injury status (e.g., dead, injured but alive, injured and moving, unknown, etc.), vessel class/type, and operational status;
(iv) Report to NMFS the vessel length, speed, and heading as soon as feasible; and
(v) Provide NMFS with a photo or video, if equipment is available.