Progress since the 2016 National Marine Fisheries Service’s Marine Mammal Technical Guidance

Abstract

In July 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published Technical Guidance for assessing the effects of underwater sound on marine mammal hearing (i.e., thresholds for the onset of permanent and temporary threshold shifts). Since 2016, NMFS continues to work to refine this document, its underlying assumptions, and associated user tools.On April 28, 2017, Presidential Executive Order (EO) 13795 was issued. Section 10 specifically called for the review of the Technical Guidance by the Secretary of Commerce to determine if it was appropriate to rescind or revise this document. To assist the Secretary of Commerce, in 2017, NMFS held a 45-day public comment period and an in-person meeting with other federal agencies to obtain feedback on the Technical Guidance. The EO 13795 review process provided NMFS with the opportunity to acquire valuable feedback from the public/stakeholders and federal agencies on the Technical Guidance since its finalization. Three key topics were raised: 1) the limited scientific data on mysticete hearing; 2) the appropriate accumulation period for assessing sound exposure on marine mammals; and 3) the need for improvements to the Technical Guidance’s optional user tools. Based on this input and per approval of the Secretary of Commerce, in June 2018, NMFS issued a Revised Technical Guidance and an updated optional User Spreadsheet tool that included a new instruction manual. The Revised Technical Guidance also summarized and evaluated relevant scientific literature published since the 2016 Technical Guidance. Furthermore, NMFS committed to convening two working groups to address outstanding technical and implementation issues raised: 1) mysticete hearing and 2) the default maximum 24-hour accumulation period. Finally, in late 2018, NMFS conducted an additional 45-day public comment period on the optional User Spreadsheet tool, which will result in further refinements based on feedback from stakeholders, including the development of a more user-friendly web-based calculator tool.In July 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published Technical Guidance for assessing the effects of underwater sound on marine mammal hearing (i.e., thresholds for the onset of permanent and temporary threshold shifts). Since 2016, NMFS continues to work to refine this document, its underlying assumptions, and associated user tools.On April 28, 2017, Presidential Executive Order (EO) 13795 was issued. Section 10 specifically called for the review of the Technical Guidance by the Secretary of Commerce to determine if it was appropriate to rescind or revise this document. To assist the Secretary of Commerce, in 2017, NMFS held a 45-day public comment period and an in-person meeting with other federal agencies to obtain feedback on the Technical Guidance. The EO 13795 review process provided NMFS with the opportunity to acquire valuable feedback from the public/stakeholders and federal agencies on the Technical Guidance since its finalization...