[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 192 (Wednesday, October 2, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 51435]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-25206]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 092696A]


Incidental Take of Marine Mammals; Bottlenose Dolphins and 
Spotted Dolphins

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

ACTION: Notice of issuance of letter of authorization.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as 
amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given 
that a letter of authorization to take bottlenose and spotted dolphins 
incidental to oil and gas structure removal activities was issued on 
September 27, 1996, to the Walter Oil & Gas Corporation, 1021 Main 
Street, Suite 2200, Houston, TX.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The letter of authorization is effective from September 
27, 1996, through September 27, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The application and letter are available for review in the 
following offices: Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West 
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and the Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721 
Executive Center Drive N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth R. Hollingshead, Office of 
Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2055 or Charles Oravetz, Southeast 
Region (813) 570-5312.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 
1361 et seq.) directs NMFS to allow, on request, the incidental, but 
not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. 
citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial 
fishing) within a specified geographical region, if certain findings 
are made and regulations are issued. Under the MMPA, the term 
``taking'' means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill or to attempt to 
harass, hunt, capture or kill marine mammals.
    Permission may be granted for periods up to 5 years if NMFS finds, 
after notification and opportunity for public comment, that the taking 
will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) of marine 
mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the 
availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses. In 
addition, NMFS must prescribe regulations that include permissible 
methods of taking and other means effecting the least practicable 
adverse impact on the species and its habitat, and on the availability 
of the species for subsistence uses, paying particular attention to 
rookeries, mating grounds and areas of similar significance. The 
regulations must include requirements pertaining to the monitoring and 
reporting of such taking. Regulations governing the taking of 
bottlenose and spotted dolphins incidental to oil and gas structure 
removal activities in the Gulf of Mexico were published on October 12, 
1995 (60 FR 53139) and remain in effect until November 13, 2000.

Summary of Request

    NMFS received a request for a letter of authorization on September 
25, 1996, from the Walter Oil & Gas Company. This letter requested a 
take by harassment of a small number of bottlenose and spotted dolphins 
incidental to the described activity. Issuance of this letter of 
authorization is based on a finding that the total takings will have a 
negligible impact on the bottlenose and spotted dolphin stocks of the 
Gulf of Mexico.

    Dated: September 27, 1996.
Patricia Montanio,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-25206 Filed 10-1-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F