[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 135 (Tuesday, July 15, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 37885]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-18464]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 062797E]


Marine Mammals; Permit No. 837

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

ACTION: Receipt of application for amendment and issuance of amendment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the National Marine Mammal 
Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way 
NE, BIN C15700, Seattle, WA 98119-0070, has requested an amendment to 
Permit No. 837, and an amendment has been issued authorizing the 
conduct of a portion of the proposed research.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 14, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The amendment request and related documents are available 
for review upon written request or by appointment in the following 
office(s):
    Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/
713-2289); and
    Regional Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, 
Juneau, AK 99802-1668 (907/586-7221).
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this request 
should be submitted to the Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, 
F/PR1, 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 amendment request would be appropriate.
    Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301) 713-0376, 
provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and 
postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period. Please 
note that comments will not be accepted by e-mail or other electronic 
media.
    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. 837, 
issued on June 4, 1993 (58 FR 33085) 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), and the Fur Seal Act of 1966, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1151 et seq.).
    Permit no. 837 authorizes the permit holder to capture, restrain, 
shear-mark, sample and handle up to 30,000 Northern fur seals 
(Callorhinus ursinus) over a 5-year period, and to collect parts from 
dead animals. The Permit Holder now requests the following: 1) biopsy 
sampling of up to 120 female seals (60 seals on St. Paul, 60 on St. 
George). A total of 1,200 fur seal pups and 1,200 non-pups may be 
harassed incidentally during the course of this activity; 2) tissue 
sampling (i.e., hair, skin, blubber, muscle and liver) of up to 120 
already deceased juvenile male seals (60 on St. Paul, 60 on St. 
George); and 3) capture and recapture of up to 20 adult female seals on 
Bogoslof Island to study foraging behavior. Each seal will be 
instrumented with a satellite tag and/or time-depth recorder and VHF 
transmitter via 5-minute epoxy glue; flipper tagged, weighed, measured, 
and released. At recapture, the instruments will be removed and the 
animals will be weighed, measured, administered an enema and released. 
Some of these seals may be sedated with Valium. At each capture, the 
seal will be given an intramuscular injection of oxytocin and milk 
sampled. Up to 2,000 pups and 2,000 non-pups may be incidentally 
harassed during the course of this activity.
    The biopsy portion of the research described in item 1, above, must 
be conducted during the current summer season, and activities are 
scheduled to begin on July 5, 1997. This work can only be done during 
the next two months before the animals are preparing to leave on 
migration, and a delay in this work will compromise the existing data 
series on co-dependent parameters also being collected this year. In 
light of the time constraints and the unique research opportunity that 
would otherwise be lost, pursuant to Section 104(c)(3)(A) of the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act and 50 CFR 216.33(e)(6) of the MMPA regulations, 
we issued an amendment to Permit No. 837 authorizing the conduct of the 
biopsy sampling.
    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial determination has been made that 
the activity proposed is categorically excluded from the requirement to 
prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.

    Dated: July 3, 1997.
Art Jeffers,
Acting Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-18464 Filed 7-14-97; 8:45 am]
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