Public Comment Sought on Trident Seafoods Plan For Bunkhouse Dock Replacement
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is accepting public comment through Jan. 25 on a request from Trident Seafoods Corp. to take marine mammals incidental to pile driving and removal events associated with replacement of its Bunkhouse Dock in Kodiak, Alaska.
The project involves removing over 200 pilings, many of them wooden, and replacing them with about 80 steel pilings. The pile driver to be used to remove old pilings and install new ones makes a lot of noise and can disturb marine mammals. Species that may possibly be impacted range from humpback whales and killer whales to harbor seals.
In a notice published in the Federal Register on Dec. 26, NOAA Fisheries said comments were requested in advance of its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization.
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