Science Response 2012/028
Science response to information requests submitted to the Enbridge northern gateway project environmental impact assessment hearings respecting ship strike risk and acoustic disturbance from shipping to whales
Context
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Environmental Assessment and Major Projects Division (EAMP), Pacific Region, requested that DFO Science, Pacific Region, on May 15, 2012, provide information regarding specific Information Requests (IRs) submitted to the Enbridge Review Panel that DFO Science has the expertise to evaluate. As the IRs for which Science advice was requested cover a range of issues and scientific disciplines, separate Science Responses have been developed for each category of IRs, and in some cases specific IRs. In addition to science related questions, some IRs included elements that were questions pertaining to DFO policy, management or legal information.
This Science Response addresses the questions about ship strike risk and ship strike risk mitigation and acoustic disturbance to whales. These questions can be categorized as:
- questions concerning the adequacy of the mitigation measures proposed by Enbridge Northern Gateway to reduce the risk of ship strikes causing injury or mortality to whales particularly Fin Whales, Humpback Whales and Grey Whales;
- questions concerning the adequacy of the ship strike risk analysis proposed for the region defined as the Confined Coastal Assessment Area (CCAA) and Enbridge Northern Gateway’s proposed timing for its completion in relation to the timing of the completion of the Environmental Review and similarly the ship strike analysis for the Open Water Assessment Area (OWAA);
- questions concerning the extent of DFO studies of the spatial and seasonal distribution of marine mammals in the CCAA and the OWAA;
- questions concerning the adequacy of the assessment of noise levels and impacts to cetaceans and adequacy of the proposed mitigation regarding noise levels.
This Science Response report is from the Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat, Regional Science Special Response Process (SSRP) of May 29th, 2012 on the Science advice in response to information requests submitted by Intervenors to the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project environmental assessment Panel Review Process. Additional publications from this process will be posted as they become available on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Science Advisory Schedule website.
Accessibility Notice
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