UK issues revised Guidelines for seismic surveys

Sarah Tsoflias — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:00:00 GMT

The UK’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) has issued their long-awaited revised Guidelines for Minimising the Risk of Disturbance and Injury to Marine Mammals from Seismic Surveys. The June 2009 final version of the guidelines is available at http://www.jncc.gov.uk/pdf/Seismic%20Guidelines%20June%202009_ver01.pdf and more information is available on the JNCC website at http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-1534. The June 2009 guidelines are now in effect and replace the April 2004 version of the guidelines.

The 2009 final guidelines include the following provisions:
- pre-survey visual observance period of 60 minutes in water depths > 200 m
- PAM is not required on all seismic surveys but is recommended as a ‘best practice’ if seismic surveys are planned to commence at night or during low visibility
- recommend use of new, re-designed Marine Mammal Recording forms (these were developed as part of a JIP-funded project)
-line change procedures are differentiated for airgun array volumes of 500 in3 or larger and volumes 180 in3 or less

In addition to the provisions listed above, there are other differences between the June 2009 guidelines and the previous 2004 version of the guidelines. Therefore, please read the final revised guidelines in their entirety.

The Draft revised guidelines were initially released by JNCC in March 2008 for public review as part of a larger consultation document, The deliberate disturbance of marine European Protected Species: Guidance for English and Welsh territorial waters and the UK offshore marine area. In June 2008, IAGC and OGP submitted joint comments on the consultation document and draft guidelines. The final version of the revised guidelines was issued by JNCC on 19 June 2009.

IAGC will review the 2009 guidelines and we expect to be providing additional information to members in the near future.

If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Sarah Tsoflias at sarah.tsoflias@iagc.org or +1 785-424-3800.

22-Jun-09 12:00 PM

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UK issues revised Guidelines for seismic surveys