[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 184 (Friday, September 20, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 49439]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24197]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 091696B]


Marine Mammals; Scientific Research Permit (P772#65)

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

ACTION: Receipt of application for amendment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Southwest Fisheries Science 
Center, NMFS, P.O. Box 271, La Jolla, CA 92038-0271, has requested an 
amendment to Permit No. 873. 

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 21, 1996.

ADDRESSES: The amendment request and related documents are available 
for review upon written request or by appointment in the following 
office(s):
    Permits Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-
West Highway, Room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-2289); and
    Director, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 
4200, 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 Director, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 
20910. 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, NMFS is forwarding copies of this application to the Marine 
Mammal Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject amendment to permit no. 873, 
issued on July 28, 1993 (58 FR 34038), 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).
    Permit no. 873 authorizes the permit holder to harass (i.e., 
through vessel approach, photogrammetry, photographic identification, 
and tissue biopsy) several marine mammal species in the Pacific, 
Southern, and Indian Oceans, over a 5-year period. The permit holder is 
now requesting authorization to: (1) Expand the location of the 
research activities to include the U.S. and international waters of the 
Gulf of Mexico; (2) increase the number of biopsy tissue sample takes 
from 20 to 50 for northern right whale dolphins (Lissodelphis 
borealis), pilot whales (Globicephala spp.), killer whales (Orcinus 
orca), harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), Dall's porpoise 
(Phocoenoides dalli), and blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) in the 
Pacific Ocean; and (3) increase the number of biopsy tissue sample 
takes for sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) from 20 to 200.

    Dated: September 16, 1996
Ann D. Terbush,
Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-24197 Filed 9-19-96; 8:45 am]
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