[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 10, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65028-65029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-31354]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 112696A]


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 1-year letters of authorization to take bottlenose and spotted 
dolphins incidental to oil and gas structure removal activities were 
issued on December 4, 1996, to Ensearch Exploration Inc., 4849 
Greenville Ave., Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas, 75206-4186; the Tennessee 
Gas Pipeline Co., 1010 Milam Street, Houston, TX 77252; and the Stone 
Petroleum Corporation, P.O. Box 52807, Lafayette, LA 70505.

ADDRESSES: The applications and letters 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

[[Page 65029]]

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 November 4, 
1996, from Ensearch Exploration, Inc.; on November 14, 1996, from the 
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co; and on December 3, 1996 from the Stone 
Petroleum Corporation. 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 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: December 5, 1996.
Michael Payne,
Chief, Marine Mammal Division, Office of Protected Resources, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-31354 Filed 12-9-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F