Code of Federal Regulations Title 50. Wildlife and Fisheries § 50.218.235 Requirements for monitoring

(1) Conduct visual monitoring from the ship's bridge during all daylight hours (30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset). During training and testing activities that employ SURTASS LFA sonar in the active mode, the SURTASS vessels must have Lookouts to maintain a topside watch with standard binoculars (7x) and with the naked eye. If the lookout sights a possible marine mammal, the lookout will use big-eye binoculars (25x) to confirm the sighting and potentially identify the marine mammal species.

(2) Use the passive SURTASS sonar component to detect vocalizing marine mammals;  and

(3) Use the HF/M3 sonar to locate and track marine mammals in relation to the SURTASS LFA sonar vessel and the LFA mitigation zone, subject to the ramp-up requirements in § 216.234(e) of this chapter.

(1) Commence at least 30 minutes before the first SURTASS LFA sonar training and testing transmission;

(2) Continue between transmission pings;  and

(3) Continue either for at least 15 minutes after completion of the SURTASS LFA sonar training and testing transmission, or, if marine mammals are exhibiting unusual changes in behavioral patterns, until behavior patterns return to normal or conditions prevent continued observations.