The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations’s (NOAA) Fisheries Service is seeking comments through July 23 on its proposed authorization for U.S. Navy training exercises around the main Hawaiian Islands. The NOAA proposal includes protective measures designed to minimize impacts on marine mammals.

According to a NOAA press release, the Navy has requested an authorization under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, because the mid-frequency sound generated by tactical sonar and the sound and pressure generated by detonating explosives may affect the behavior of some marine mammals or cause a temporary loss of hearing sensitivity.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service does not expect the exercises to result in serious injury or death to marine mammals and has proposed the Navy use mitigation measures. However, the release stated exposure to sonar in certain circumstances has been associated with the stranding of some marine mammals and some injury or death may occur despite the best efforts of the Navy. The draft authorization allows for incidental impacts on marine mammals, including injury or death of up to 10 animals of each of 10 species over the five years covered by the authorization.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service has determined that these effects would have a negligible effect on the species or stocks involved.

Under the authorization, the Navy would have to follow mitigation measures to minimize effects on marine mammals, including: establishing marine mammal safety zones around each vessel using sonar; use of Navy observers to shut down sonar operations if marine mammals are seen within designated safety zones; use of exclusion zones to ensure that explosives are not detonated when animals are detected within a certain distance; a stranding response plan that includes a training shutdown provision in certain circumstances and a memorandum of agreement to allow the Navy to contribute in-kind services to NOAA’s Fisheries Service if the agency has to conduct a stranding response and investigation; establishing an area of extra caution in the Maui Basin because of a high density of humpback whales.

The Navy has conducted training exercises—including the use of mid-frequency sonar—in the Hawaiian Islands for more than 40 years. Exercises range from large multi-national, month-long training exercises using multiple submarines, ships and aircraft conducted every other year (Rim of Pacific Training Exercises), to two- to three-day exercises to test the readiness of battle groups, known as Undersea Warfare Exercises (USWEXs), and shorter exercises that last less than a day. In addition, some exercises involve the use of explosives.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service will accept comments on the application and proposed authorization through July 23. Comments should be addressed to: Michael Payne, Chief of the Permits, Conservation and Education Division; Office of Protected Resources, NMFS; 1315 East West Highway; Silver Spring, MD 20910. Electronic comments may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov using the identifier: 0648-AW86.