[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 179 (Tuesday, September 16, 1997)] [Notices] [Page 48611] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 97-24520] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [I.D. 090597D] Marine Mammals AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Receipt of application for amendment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Whale Conservation Institute, 191 Weston Road, Lincoln, Massachusetts 01773, has requested an amendment to Permit No. 1004. DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 16, 1997. 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 Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930 (508/281-9250). Written data or views, or requests for a public hearing on this request should be submitted to the Chief, Permits 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 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 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 222.23). Permit No. 1004 authorizes the importation of biopsy tissue samples taken from several species of cetaceans in South America, through June 30, 1998. The Holder is now requesting that: 1) the expiration date of the permit be extended from June 30, 1998 to November 30, 1998; 2) the number of imported southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) tissue samples taken at Peninsula Valdez, Argentina be increased from 20 to 340; and 3) these ``tissues samples'' taken from southern right whales include baleen, blood and bone, skin/blubber and organ tissues (from dead/stranded whales), and sloughed skin (from live free-ranging whales). Amendment of the permit to allow for this adjustment is considered administrative in nature and is therefore planned to take place upon close of the public comment period. Dated: September 8, 1997. Ann D. Terbush, Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 97-24520 Filed 9-15-97; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-F