[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 13, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 58168]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-28952]



[[Page 58168]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 102996C]


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 letters 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 letters of authorization to take bottlenose and spotted dolphins 
incidental to oil and gas structure removal activities were issued to 
Parker & Parsley Petroleum USA, Inc., 555 N. Carancahua, Corpus 
Christi, TX 78478 on October 17, 1996; Amoco Production Company, P.O. 
Box 50879, New Orleans, LA 70150 on October 24, 1996; and Oryx Energy 
Company, P.O. Box 2880, Dallas, Texas 75221-2880 on November 6, 1996.

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 requests for letters of authorization on October 15, 
1996, from Parker & Parsley Petroleum USA, and on October 23, 1996, 
from Amoco Production Company and the Oryx Energy Company. These 
letters requested a take by harassment of a small number of bottlenose 
and spotted dolphins incidental to the described activity. Issuance of 
these letters of authorization are 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: November 6, 1996.
Patricia Montanio,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-28952 Filed 11-12-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F