Greetings,
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is announcing the availability of the “Update to: Technical Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing (Version 3.0): Underwater and In-Air Criteria for Onset of Auditory Injury and Temporary Threshold Shifts” (Draft Updated Technical Guidance) for a 45-day public comment period until June 17, 2024 (starting May 3). NOAA Fisheries has developed the Draft Updated Technical Guidance for assessing the effects of anthropogenic sound on marine mammal species, underwater and in-air, under NOAA Fisheries’s jurisdiction. This document provides updated received levels and auditory weighting functions, or acoustic criteria, based on the best available science, at which individual marine mammals are predicted to experience changes in their hearing sensitivity (either auditory injury or temporary threshold shift) for all anthropogenic sound sources. The Draft Updated Technical Guidance is intended to be used by NOAA Fisheries analysts and managers and other relevant user groups and stakeholders, including other federal agencies, when seeking to determine whether and how their activities are expected to result in particular types of impacts to marine mammals via acoustic exposure. Electronic copies of the document containing the revised section of the draft updated acoustic guidance can be found at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-mammal-protection/marine-mammal-acoustic-technical-guidance and the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov. Comments may also be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal ( http://www.regulations.gov, search for NOAA-NMFS-2024-0026). Thank you for your interest in this document. For more information, please contact Amy Scholik-Schlomer (amy.scho...@noaa.gov or 301 427-8449). Amy R. Scholik-Schlomer, Ph.D*. *(she/her/hers) Fishery Biologist (HQ Protected Resources Acoustic Coordinator) *NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service* *Office of Protected Resources* *Permits and Conservation Division1315 East-West Hwy.Silver Spring, MD 20910* (301) 427-8449 Email: *amy.scho...@noaa.gov <amy.scho...@noaa.gov>* https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/understanding-sound-ocean
