Biological and Conference Opinion on the Proposed Implementation of a Program for the Issuance of Permits for Research and Enhancement Activities on Cetaceans in the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern Oceans
February 13, 2020
This document represents the NOAA Fisheries ESA Interagency Cooperation Division’s opinion on the effects of the proposed action on threatened and endangered species and critical habitat that have been proposed or designated for those species.
The action agency for this consultation is the NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources, Permits and Conservation Division. The NMFS Permits and Conservation Division proposes to implement a program for the issuance of permits for research and enhancement activities on cetaceans pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA and section 104 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C.§1361 et seq.). The purpose of the proposed permits are to allow an exception to the moratorium and prohibition on takes established under the ESA and MMPA in order to allow numerous researchers in the scientific community to conduct scientific research on marine mammals worldwide.