AK-21-01: Winter Ringed Seal Density within Beaufort Sea Oil and Gas Project Areas

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The goal of this Cooperative Agreement is to gather information on ringed seal distribution, density and habitat use within the landfast ice zone adjacent to BOEMs Beaufort Sea Planning Area, NPR-A, ANWR and within other existing North Slope oil gas fields present in the nearshore Beaufort Sea. The objectives of this study are to: Analyze nearshore ice use by ringed seals by locating and documenting status of wintering seals and their structures to develop avoidance strategies where ring seal habitat overlaps with North Slope oil and gas activities. Utilize novel survey technology to expand capabilities to facilitate research on the habitat of ringed seals to improve understanding of ringed seal movements. Identify winter and spring seasonal movement patterns of adult ringed seals with an emphasis on detecting subnivean lair use in landfast ice in areas bounded by NPR-A, ANWR and BOEMs Beaufort Sea Planning Area. Document ringed seal habitat use areas and local foraging behavior by classifying foraging locations and determine if oil and gas development activities create movement barriers for ringed seals to access prey. Evaluate and compare the efficiencies of the proposed survey technologies with existing methods used to detect ringed seals, their breathing holes, and lairs.

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