Comment from Amphibian Refuge
Amphibian RefugeSupportIndividual
Summary: The commenter requests that SpaceX conduct baseline surveys and periodic population monitoring for various endangered marine species in the Northern Pacific Contingency Land Area and other landing sites. They argue that current knowledge of these species is limited and that data is needed to understand the impacts of contingency landing operations.
The world’s oceans contain a wide diversity of species, but our knowledge of those species is limited. Many species are endangered. Little data is available on the impacts of contingency landing areas on marine fauna. In the Northern Pacific Contingency Land Area, please conduct baseline surveys to estimate current populations and conduct period population monitoring surveys to determine population trends for the following endangered species: fishes - giant manta ray, oceanic whitetip shark, scalloped hammerhead shark, chum salmon, sockeye salmon, and steelhead; reptiles - leatherback sea turtle; birds - band-rumped storm petrel, Hawaiian petrel, Newell’s shearwater, and short-tailed albatross; whales - sei whale, blue whale, fin whale, North Pacific right whale, humpback whale, sperm whale, and gray whale; and seals - Guadalupe fur seal and steller sea lion. As feasible, conduct similar populations surveys in other contingency landing areas. Thank you for this opportunity to comment.