The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has granted an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to conduct a marine geophysical survey in the Nauru Basin of Greater Micronesia, as outlined under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). This authorization allows for the incidental but non-harmful disruption of 27 marine mammal species by the survey's activities, limited to Level B harassment, which includes changes in behavior due to noise. The survey will employ mitigation measures to minimize impacts on marine life, such as visual monitoring by trained observers and specific shutdown zones. NMFS has determined the survey poses a negligible impact on the coast's marine mammal populations.
Simple Explanation
The government has given special permission to scientists from a place called Scripps Institution of Oceanography to study the ocean in a part of the world called Nauru Basin, and they are allowed to make little noise that might make sea animals act a bit differently, but they have plans to make sure the animals stay safe.