Section 1 Introduction - National Marine Fisheries Service - NOAA

NBK at Bangor EHW-1 Pile Replacement Project Final Marine Mammal Monitoring Report
Date
27-Oct-11
Sighting
Time
(hh:mm)
11:26-
11:36
Project
Name
# of
Animal(s)
Est.
Distance to
Pile (m)
Monitoring
Activity Type
EHW-1 2 1,360 Pile extraction
27-Oct-11 11:47 EHW-1 2 1,360
27-Oct-11
12:03-
12:07
Between two
hammer run
times
EHW-1 2 1,360 Pile extraction
TOTAL #OF INDIVIDUALS SIGHTED PER
PROJECT
Notes
Resighting. Considered as a
resighting of the same individuals
noted during the 09:56 to 10:05
timeframe because the MMO was
watching the same location at all
times, and MMO notes did not
indicate that new individuals
arrived on site. Animal was hauled
out during pile driving activities.
Resighting. Considered as a resighting
of the same individuals noted during
the 09:56 to 10:05 timeframe because
the MMO was watching the same
location at all times, and MMO notes
did not indicate that new individuals
arrived on site. Animal was hauled
out. Hammer was not on during
sighting.
Resighting. Considered as a
resighting of the same individuals
noted during the 09:56 to 10:05
timeframe because the MMO was
watching the same location at all
times, MMO notes did not indicate
that new individuals arrived on site.
Animal was hauled out during pile
driving activities.
TPP: 6 (NO LEVEL B TAKES)
EHW-1: 18 (1 LEVEL B TAKE)
Notes:
^First day of marine mammal counts at Delta Pier.
‡Incident represents a level B take; fell within the measured 120 dB RMS behavioral harassment zone for vibratory pile driving
*First day of Steller sea lion focal follow data collection at Delta Pier.
Marine Mammal Sightings and Environmental Conditions
Perhaps not surprisingly, most marine mammal sightings were made in calm conditions with low
wave height (Figures 10a and 10b). Ninety-five percent (465 of a total 491) of marine mammal
sightings were made during Beaufort sea state conditions of 0-2 (winds at or below 6 knots) (see
Appendix A for the Beaufort scale). Marine mammal surveys were conducted during sea states
no greater than Beaufort 5 (winds at or below 21 knots), and there were zero sightings made in a
Beaufort sea state of 5. Ninety percent (444 of a total of 491) of sightings were made when
weather conditions were overcast (OC), partly cloudy (PC), or sunny (S). More marine
mammals were observed during partly cloudy and overcast conditions than in sunny conditions,
likely because of reduced glare on the water. (Note: animal resightings were included in this
analysis, since all sightings were considered to be of interest in relation to environmental
variables. Therefore, the total number of sightings indicated is slightly higher than the sightings
total shown in Table 6).
Bangor, Washington 51