[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 72 (Friday, April 14, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19025-19026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-9234]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 040595B]


Marine Mammals

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

ACTION: Request to export a nonreleasable beached and stranded marine 
mammal (P584).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Fort MacArthur Marine Mammal 
Care Center has requested authorization to export for public display 
purposes one nonreleasable beached and stranded Northern elephant seal 
from its rehabilitation facility in San Pedro, CA, to Mundo Aquatico, 
at Zoomarine, in Albufeira, Portugal.

ADDRESSES: The request for authorization and related documents are 
available for review upon written request from the Chief, Permits 
Division, F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1335 East-West 
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 (301/713-2289). [[Page 19026]] 
    Relevant written comments about this request should be submitted to 
the above address by May 15, 1995.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fort MacArthur Marine Mammal Care Center and 
Mundo Aquatico are requesting authorization for the export of one 
nonreleasable rehabilitated female Northern elephant seal (Mirounga 
angustirostris) for the purpose of public display under the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 
seq.).
    The subject marine mammal, stranded in Santa Monica, CA, has been 
under rehabilitation for suspected head trauma since April 1, 1994. A 
determination of unreleasability was made by the attending veterinarian 
and submitted to the NMFS Southwest Region on January 25, 1995. NMFS 
concurs with this determination.
    The permanent retention or export for public display purposes of a 
beached or stranded marine mammal taken for the purpose of 
rehabilitation under Sec. 109(h) of the MMPA must be authorized by 
NMFS. Under the MMPA 1994 amendments, in order to obtain any marine 
mammal for public display purposes, the recipient must: (1) Offer a 
program for education or conservation purposes that is based on 
professionally recognized standards of the public display community; 
(2) be registered or hold a license issued under 7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq., 
i.e., from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (or, for foreign facilities, meet comparable 
standards); and (3) maintain facilities for the public display of 
marine mammals that are open to the public on a regularly scheduled 
basis and to which access is not limited or restricted other than by 
charging of an admission fee.
    In this regard, the required certifications and statements provided 
by Mundo Aquatico and the Portuguese Government have been submitted to 
NMFS and APHIS, and have been found appropriate and sufficient to allow 
consideration of the request.

    Dated: April 10, 1995.
Ann D. Terbush,
Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 95-9234 Filed 4-13-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F