50 CFR § 217.322 - Permissible methods of taking.

§ 217.322 Permissible methods of taking.

Under a Letter of Authorization (LOA) issued pursuant to § 216.106 of this chapter and § 217.326 or § 217.327, LOA Holder, and those persons it authorizes or funds to conduct activities on its behalf, may incidentally, but not intentionally, take marine mammals within the area described in § 217.320(b) in the following ways, provided LOA Holder is in complete compliance with all terms, conditions, and requirements of the regulations in this subpart and the appropriate LOA:

(a) By Level B harassment associated with the acoustic disturbance of marine mammals by impact and vibratory pile driving and drilling (foundation installation), UXO/MEC detonations, and HRG site characterization surveys;

(b) By Level A harassment associated with the acoustic disturbance of marine mammals by impact pile driving of WTG and ESP foundations and UXO/MEC detonations;

(c) Take by mortality or serious injury of any marine mammal species is not authorized; and

(d) The incidental take of marine mammals by the activities listed in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section is limited to the following species:

Table 1 to Paragraph (d)

Marine mammal species Scientific name Stock
Atlantic spotted dolphin Stenella frontalis Western North Atlantic.
Atlantic white-sided dolphin Lagenorhynchus acutus Western North Atlantic.
Blainsville's beaked whale Mesoplodon densirostris Western North Atlantic.
Blue whale Balaenoptera musculus Western North Atlantic.
Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus Western North Atlantic, offshore.
Clymene dolphin Stenella clymene Western North Atlantic.
Cuvier's beaked whale Ziphius cavirostris Western North Atlantic.
Dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima Western North Atlantic.
False killer whale Pseudorca crassidens Western North Atlantic.
Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus Western North Atlantic.
Fraser's dolphin Lagenodelphis hosei Western North Atlantic.
Gervais' beaked whale Mesoplodon europaeus Western North Atlantic.
Gray seal Halichoerus grypus Western North Atlantic.
Harbor porpoise Phocoena phocoena Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy.
Harbor seal Phoca vitulina Western North Atlantic.
Harp seal Pagophilus groenlandicus Western North Atlantic.
Hooded seal Cystophora cristata Western North Atlantic.
Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Gulf of Maine
Killer whale Orcinus orca Western North Atlantic.
Long-finned pilot whale Globicephala melas Western North Atlantic.
Melon-headed whale Peponocephala electra Western North Atlantic.
Minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata Canadian Eastern Coastal.
North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis Western North Atlantic.
Northern bottlenose whale Hyperoodon ampullatus Western North Atlantic.
Pantropical spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata Western North Atlantic.
Pygmy killer whale Feresa attenuata Western North Atlantic.
Pygmy sperm whale Kogia breviceps Western North Atlantic.
Risso's dolphin Grampus griseus Western North Atlantic.
Rough-toothed dolphin Steno bredanensis Western North Atlantic.
Sei whale Balaenoptera borealis Nova Scotia.
Short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis Western North Atlantic.
Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus Western North Atlantic.
Sowerby's beaked whale Mesoplodon bidens Western North Atlantic.
Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus Western North Atlantic.
Spinner dolphin Stenella longirostris Western North Atlantic.
Striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba Western North Atlantic.
True's beaked whale Mesoplodon mirus Western North Atlantic.
White-beaked dolphin Lagenorhynchus albirostris Western North Atlantic.