RA-16-102, Submittal of Annual Sea Turtle Incidental Take Report - 2016

Submittal of Annual Sea Turtle Incidental Take Report - 2016

ML16349A619
Person / Time
Site:	Oyster Creek
Issue date:	12/08/2016
From:	Gillin M Exelon Generation Co
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
RA-16-102
Download: ML16349A619 (7)

Text

Oyster Cr.eek

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~~ Exelon Generation© P.O. Box388 Forked River, NJ 08731 50 CFR 402.14(i)(3)

December 8, 2016 RA-16-102 National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Region Protected Resources Division One Blackburn Drive Gloucester, MA 01930 Attention: Julie Crocker, Section 7 Coordinator Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-16 NRC Docket No. 50-219

Subject:

Annual Sea Turtle Incidental Take Report - 2016

Dear Ms. Crocker:

Enclosed is a copy of the 2016 Annual Sea Turtle Incidental Take Report for the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station. The report is submitted in a.ccorda.nce with Terms and Conditions Number 8 of the Incidental Take Statement of the 2011 Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation Biological Opinion.

If you have any questions concerning this submittal, please contact Kathryn Houlahan, Environmental Scientist, at (609) 971-2588.

Sincerely, Michael F. Gillin Plant Manager Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Enclosure cc: NRC Document Control Desk Administrator, Region I NRC Senior Project Manager NRC Senior Resident Inspector

Enclosure to RA-16-102 Annual Report of Sea Turtle Incidental Takes - 2016 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Renewed Facility Operating License No. DPR-16 Docket No. 50-219 Prepared by:

Kathryn Houlahan, Environmental Scientist Rheiner Dutes, Senior Regulatory Specialist Exelon Generation December 2016

Introduction The Annual Report of Sea Turtle Incidental Takes provides a summary of the incidental takes of all species of sea turtles at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (OCNGS) during the past year. The report is required by Terms and Conditions (T&C) Number 8 of the Incidental Take Statement (ITS) of the OCNGS Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation Biological Opinion. This report covers all incidental takes and sightings of sea turtles that occurred during 2016.

Incidental Take Reports documenting the circumstances of incidental takes of sea turtles were completed following three OCNGS sea turtle incidental takes during 2016 and were provided to the NMFS and USNRC within 30 days of each incidental take. Sea Turtle Incidental Take Reports 2016-001 though 2016-003 are summarized in Attachment 1. Photographs of the three turtles, as well as the necropsy report for the one dead sea turtle, has already been supplied with the individual reports and therefore are not included in this report.

Incidental Take Date I Time (condition and species) 2016-1 Monday, August 1, 2016/ 1628 (Dead juvenile Kemp's Ridley) 2016-2 Thursday, August 25, 2016/ 0840 (Live Loggerhead) 2016-3 Friday, October 28, 2016/ 2250 (Live juvenile Atlantic Green)

Comparison of Annual Sea Turtle Incidental Takes With Prior Years The three OCNGS incidental takes during 2016 is less than the long-term average of approximately five incidental takes per year recorded over the last twenty years. However, tile annual abundance of sea turtles in this vicinity appears to be highly variable, unpredictable, and unrelated to the operation of OCNGS. There are several factors that may influence the number of sea turtle incidental takes that occur at the OCNGS. Barnegat Inlet, the only tidal inlet in the vicinity of Oyster Creek, which provides access to Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean, was deepened during dredging operations in the early 1990s. Completion of the Barnegat Inlet dredging operation resulted in an increase in the tidal prism, or volume of water entering and exiting the inlet on a single tidal cycle, as well as a slightly greater tidal range at Oyster Creek.

The deepening of Barnegat Inlet and associated waterway channels was completed immediately prior to 1992, when incidental takes of sea turtles began to occur at OCNGS, and may partially explain the occurrence of the turtles. Increased regulatory protection of sea turtles under the Endangered Species Act also began in the early 1990's.

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Physical factors, such as an oceanic front or an oceanic eddy occurring unusually close to Barnegat Inlet, may also play a part in the prevalence of sea turtles near Oyster Creek because oceanic fronts have been shown to be used as a migratory and forage habitat by sea turtles (Polovina et al, 2000). Experience has also shown that the passage of a severe storm or pressure system near Barnegat Inlet can cause major increases in winds, waves, tides and tidal prism in shallow estuarine waters such as Barnegat Bay. These events could increase the likelihood of slowly swimming organisms such as sea turtles occurring in the estuary. It is likely that the local variability of sea turtle abundance is also related to biological factors including the abundance of organisms on which sea turtles prefer to feed, including crabs such as blue crabs, horseshoe crabs, and calico crabs, as well as sponges and various types of algae. The lower than average number of incidental takes in 2016 may have been an anomaly based on unfavorable physical conditions or lack of prey. However, an analysis of the number of incidental takes at OCNGS indicates that there has been an increase in the average annual

number of incidental takes in recent years in comparison to the previous decade. For example, a total of 26 sea turtle incidental takes occurred at OCNGS between 1996 and 2005 (an average of three takes per year), but 75 incidental takes occurred between 2006 and 2015 (an average of eight takes per year). This recent trend of increasing OCNGS incidental takes parallels a similar trend of generally increasing sea turtle strandings reported during that period by the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN) along the Atlantic coast. The conduct of operations at the OCNGS intakes has not been changed in any manner that would explain the recent increase in takes. However, the increase may reflect the long-term success of turtle legislative protection and conservation measures such as TED implementation, nest

.and egg protection at sea turtle nesting sites, and turtle head-starting programs.

Many years of environmental sampling conducted near OCNGS have repeatedly demonstrated that the abundance of various marine organisms can vary considerably from year to year, often by orders of magnitude. This is particularly true for seasonal migrants, whose abundance in Barnegat Bay is highly dependent upon physical and biological factors along the migratory route. Therefore, the observed annual variation in sea turtle incidental takes at OCNGS from a minimum of zero to a maximum of twelve per year is not considered particularly significant.

In the most recent OCNGS Biological Opinion and ITS, issued in November 2011, NMFS determined that no more than 71 Kemp's Ridley sea turtles, 6 Loggerhead sea turtles, and 11 Atlantic Green sea turtles are likely to be directly affected by interaction with OCNGS during the '

remainder of the OCNGS operating license (i.e., through 2029). The cumulative numbers of I I

post-2011 incidental takes are listed below and can be used for comparison with the allowable species totals during the remainder of the OCNGS operating license:

Iyr:tl~ Sgecies C.Ymulative_Jotal to _D.ateJ _1/201 ta 12/2029 Kemp's Ridley 27 Loggerhead 4 Green 6 OCNGS expects ongoing support from the MMSC for both transfers of live sea turtles for rehabilitation and as the primary facility for necropsies. OCNGS has noted the exceptional past efforts by the dedicated and capable MMSC staff in the care and rehabilitation of sea turtles transferred to the Brigantine facility, and that exceptional level of care was again apparent during 2016.

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sea turtles is to protect the turtles that do arrive at the plant, and to release as many turtles as possible to safety. The OCNGS program for the protection of threatened and endangered sea turtles can be considered to be quite successful because most of the sea turtles incidentally captured at OCNGS since 1992 have subsequently been rehabilitated and released alive and well, to the Atlantic Ocean in locations free from potential cold-shock owing to the efforts of OCNGS and MMSC personnel.

References Polovina, J.J., D.R. Kobayashi, D.M. Ellis, M.P. Seki, and G.H. Balazs. 2000. Turtles on the edge: Movement of loggerhead turtles ( Caretta caretta) along oceanic fronts in the central North Pacific, 1997-1998. Fish. Oceanogr., 9: 71-82.

Enclosure to RA-16-102 ATTACHMENT 1 2016 Incidental Take Reports

Incidental Take 2016-1 Incidental Take 2016-2 Incidental Take 2016-3 OPERATIONS

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DEPARTMENT: ",. . ' '1' Observer's full name: William Thompson Mike Andrejko William Thompson Reporter's full name: John Devenney Joshua McGuire Thomas Busk Species Identification (Key attached): Kemp's Ridley Loaaerhead Green Site of Impingement (CWS or DWS): DWS DWS cws Bay Number: 6 1 5 Date animal observed: 1-August-16 25-Auqust-16 28-0ctober-16 Time animal observed: 16:28 08:40 22:50 Date animal collected: 1-August-16 25-Auqust-16 28-0ctober-16 Time animal collected: 16:34 15:00 23:03 CONDITIONS AT .. , .. ,,

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Tidal Stage: Low Tide Low Tide Hiqh Tide Cloud conditions: Overcast Clear Clear Precipitation: None None None Intake water temperature: 81°F 79°F 55°F Other conditions None None None Number of CW pumps runninq: 4 4 4 NumbeTof ow pumps runninq: 2 2 2 Reactor power level at observation: 100% 99% 100%

Reactor power previous 48-hours: 100% 99% 100%

Date of last screen inspection: 1-August-16 25-Auqust-16 28-0ctober-16 Time of last screen inspection: 12:15 08:00 20:00 Date of last trash raking: 1-August-16 25-August-16 28-0ctober-16 Time of last trash raking: -*-

00:35 00:23

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Incidental Take 2016-1 Incidental Take 2016-2 Incidental Take 2016-3 ENVIRONMENTAL DEPARTMENT:

Date Brigantine MMSC contacted: 1-August-16 25-Auqust-16 28-0ctober-16 Time Brigantine MMSC contacted: 16:49 15:04 23:40 Date Animal picked up by MMSC: 2-August-16 25-Auqust-16 29-0ctober-16 Time Animal picked up by MMSC: 08:30 16:30 10:20 State of animal when first observed: Dead Alive Alive State of animal when Dead Alive Alive collected:

State of animal when picked up: Dead Alive Alive Dead, internal organs State of animal arriving at extremely friable, no Alive, old injuries on MMSC: obvious cause of carapace from Alive, no obvious death. possible boat strike injuries or illness.

Transferred to North Carolina Aquarium at Final disposition of animal:

Dead, buried off the TBD, MMSC still in Pineknoll Shares for beach possessiqn of Jurtle. evaluation and release, Carapace Length - Curved 26.2 cm 86.4 cm 33.6 cm Carapace Length - Straight 25.1 cm 79.0 cm 31.2 cm Carapace Width - Curved: 27.0 cm 83.8 cm 28.7 cm Carapace Width - Straight: 23.1 cm 66.4 cm 26.2 cm Weight - lbs (kgs) 3.2 lbs. 141 lbs. 7.7 lbs.

Existing Tag Number notaq no tao no tag Photograph attached Yes Yes Yes Diagram of wounds, abnormalities, tag locations attached Yes Yes Yes Description of Animal Juvenile Kemp's Loggerhead of Juvenille Green of Ridlev fem ale undetermined sex undetermined sex All information sent to:

National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Region; Protected Resources Division; Attention: Yes Yes Yes Endangered Species Coordinator; One Blackburn Drive; Gloucester, MA 01930