[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 4, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-10637]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 4, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 040794D]

 

Marine Mammals

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Receipt of application for a scientific research permit 
(P281C).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that S. Jonathan Stern, Marine Mammal 
Research Program, Texas A&M University, 4700 Avenue U, Building 303, 
Galveston, Texas, has applied in due form for a permit to take minke 
whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), blue whales (B. musculus), fin 
whales (B. physalus), sei whales (B. borealis), humpback whales 
(Megaptera novaeangliae), gray whales (Eschrictius robustus), and 
killer whales (Orcinus orca) for purposes of scientific research.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 3, 1994.

ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for 
review upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
    Permits Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-
West Highway, Room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-2289);
    Director, Southwest Region, 501 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200, 
Long Beach, CA 90802-4213, (310/980-4001);
    Director, Northwest Region, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE., BIN C15700, 
Bldg. 1, Seattle, WA 98115-0070, (206/526-6150); and
    Director, Alaska Region, P.O. Box 21688, Juneau, AK 99802-1668, 
(907/586-7221).
    Written data or views, or requests for a public hearing on this 
request, should be submitted to the Director, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1315 East-West 
Highway, Room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910, within 30 days of the 
publication of this notice. Those individuals requesting a hearing 
should set forth the specific reasons why a hearing on this particular 
request would be appropriate.
    Concurrent with the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, the Secretary of Commerce is forwarding copies of this 
application to the Marine Mammal Commission and its Committee of 
Scientific Advisors.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is requested under the 
authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the Regulations Governing the Taking and 
Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216), the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the regulations 
governing the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered fish and 
wildlife (50 CFR part 222).
    The applicant proposes to take by inadvertent harassment, up to 
several times daily, a maximum of 1,000 minke whales, 400 blue whales, 
100 fin whales, 50 sei whales, 600 humpback whales, 500 gray whales, 
and 300 killer whales per year for 5 years for photo-identification 
purposes. A minimum population size estimate for the minke whale stocks 
under investigation will be generated from the total of individually 
identified whales. Of the number requested above, 150 minke whales, and 
30 individuals of each of the remaining baleen whale species are 
requested for biopsy darting to collect blubber and skin samples to 
examine trophic level relationships with prey and among whale species, 
and to conduct genetic analysis. Individually identified whales are 
intended to be sampled once every 30 days, but not more than 12 times. 
A maximum of five individuals from each pod of killer whales 
encountered in the Gulf of the Farallones will be biopsied only once. 
The research will be centered in and around the Gulf of the Farallones 
National Marine Sanctuary from Bodega Bay to Point Sur, California, but 
will range opportunistically from the Gulf of Alaska to the California/ 
Mexican border.
Dated: April 26, 1994.
Herbert W. Kaufman,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 94-10637 Filed 5-3-94; 8:45a.m.]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F