[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 12, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-697] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: January 12, 1994] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Mammals AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), NOAA, Commerce. ACTION: Issuance of permit modifications. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the provisions of Secs. 216.33 (d) and (e) of the Regulations Governing the Taking and Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216), nine public display permits are modified to extend the authority to take Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) for public display purposes until December 31, 1994. EFFECTIVE DATE: These modifications are effective January 1, 1994. ADDRESSES: The permits, as modified, are available for review by appointment in the Permits Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, room 13130, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, (301) 713-2289. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following public display permits have been extended: Public Display Permit No. 558, issued to Loro Parque, S.A., 38400 Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain; Public Display Permit No. 588, issued to Mystic Marinelife Aquarium, 55 Coogan Boulevard, Mystic, Connecticut 06355-1997; Public Display Permit No. 608, issued to Aquarium of Niagara Falls, 701 Whirlpool Street, Niagara Falls, New York 14301-1094; Public Display Permit No. 627, issued to Horizons West, Ltd., dba Marine Life Aquarium, 6001 South Highway 16, Rapid, City, South Dakota 57701; Public Display Permit No. 628, issued to the Indianapolis Zoological Society, Inc., 1200 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46222; Public Display Permit No. 632, issued to Marine World Foundation, Marine World Parkway, Vallejo, California 94589; Public Display Permit No. 647, issued to Gulf World, Inc., 15412 Front Beach Road, Panama City Beach, Florida 32407; Public Display Permit No. 649 issued to Marine Animal Productions, Inc., Gulfport, Mississippi 39502-4078; Public Display Permit No. 656 issued to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Pier 3, 501 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. All conditions of the original permits and subsequent modifications shall remain in effect. A voluntary moratorium has been in effect on the removal of dolphins from the Gulf of Mexico since February 1990. During that time, NMFS has extended the public display permits of permit holders, who had previously been authorized to capture Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, but deferred collecting the animals as a result of the moratorium. The permit holders listed above have requested that their permits authorizing the collection of dolphins be extended through 1994. NMFS has granted their requests. However, in light of questions about the status and health of wild populations of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and the availability of dolphins from sources other than the wild, NMFS is continuing to ask collectors to participate in a voluntary moratorium on dolphin collection. NMFS will consider requests to collect only if there is reasonable indication that dolphins from the wild are necessary to maintain a public display collection. Dated: January 5, 1994. William W. Fox, Jr., Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 94-697 Filed 1-11-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-M