National Marine Fisheries Service Endangered Species Act Section 7 Biological and Conference Opinion Programmatic Biological and Conference Opinion on Construction and Operation of up to 25 New Offshore Patrol Cutters to Support Coast Guard Missions Programmatic Biological and Conference Opinion on Construction and Operation of up to 25 New Offshore Patrol Cutters to Support Coast Guard Missions

The final biological and conference opinion for the U.S. Coast Guard's (USCG) Acquisition, Construction and Operation of 25 new offshore patrol cutters with a low number of incidental take exempted as a result of vessel strike of large whales (large offshore vessels traveling at high speeds). There was regional coordination on this national action and the USCG will be coordinating with the regions for any necessary consistency reviews that would need to occur in the future, or with OPR for any reinitiation of consultation.