[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 47 (Friday, March 10, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13121-13122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5925]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 022195F]


Marine Mammals

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

ACTION: Receipt of application for a scientific research permit (P492A 
and P492B).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr. Graham A.J. Worthy, Marine 
Mammal Research Program, Texas A&M University, 4700 Avenue U, 
Galveston, TX 77551-5923 (co-investigators: Alan Abend and Lisl K.M. 
Shoda), has applied in due form for a permit to obtain skin, blubber, 
blood, and muscle samples, and to import/export samples from various 
species of cetaceans and pinnipeds for purposes of scientific research.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 10, 1995.

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);
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 9720 Executive Center Drive, N., St. 
Petersburg, FL 33702-2532 (813/570-5312); and
    Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 W. Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 
90802-4213 (310/980-4001).
    Written data or views, or requests for a public hearing on this 
request, should be submitted to the Chief, Permits Division, F/PR1, 
Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1335 East-West Highway, 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).
    Dr. Worthy and Mr. Abend (P492A) request a permit to biopsy two 
captive beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) at the Aquarium of 
Wildlife Conservation, and obtain, import, and export skin, blubber, 
and blood samples from various other species of pinnipeds and 
cetaceans. Samples to be imported from/exported to Canada, Norway, and 
the Netherlands will be obtained from other permitted researchers and 
stranded animals. The objectives are to determine the actual tissue 
turnover rates of marine mammals using stable isotope tracers, 
determine which tissues are suitable for fatty acid tracing of marine 
mammal diets, and apply the turnover rates to free-ranging marine 
mammals to identify prey and movement.
    Dr. Worthy and Ms. Shoda (P492B) request a permit to biopsy 30 
rehabilitating beached/stranded northern elephant seals (Mirounga 
angustirostris) at Sea World and/or The Marine Mammal Center. The 
objectives of the study are to determine the pattern of toxin 
redistribution as northern [[Page 13122]] elephant seals improve from a 
thin blubber layer emaciated state to a thick blubber layer fattened 
state, determine whether there are detectable changes in cellular 
immune function as animals gain body condition, and characterize the 
relationship between cellular immune responsiveness and OC levels.

    Dated: March 3, 1995.
P.A. Montanio,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-5925 Filed 3-9-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F