The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), on behalf of NMFS and the National Ocean Service (referred collectively here as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)), has made available a document containing proposed changes to its Draft Guidance for Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammal Hearing.

The Guidance provides updated received levels, or thresholds, at which individual marine mammals under NOAA's management authority are predicted to experience changes in their hearing sensitivity (either temporary or permanent) for all underwater anthropogenic sound sources. NOAA has re-evaluated and modified several parts of the Draft Guidance and is soliciting public comment on the proposed changes.

The proposed changes to the Draft Guidance are available in electronic form via the Internet here.

Comments on the document changes are due 30 March 2016.

For more information on making comments, click here.