[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 209 (Wednesday, October 29, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 56151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-28561]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 093097B]


Marine Mammals; Scientific Research Permit (P36D)

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

ACTION: Receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr. Bernd Wursig, Director, Marine 
Mammal Research Program, Texas A&M University, 4700 Avenue U/Building 
303, Galveston, Texas 77551, has applied in due form for a permit to 
take bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) for purposes of 
scientific research.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 28, 
1997.
    ADDRESSES: The application 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, Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721 Executive 
Center Drive North, St. Petersburg, FL 33702-2432 (813/570-5301).
    Written data or views, or requests for a public hearing on this 
request, should be submitted to the Director, 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 permit is requested under the 
authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the Regulations Governing the Taking and 
Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216).
    The applicant requests authorization to take by harassment up to 
5,000 bottlenose dolphins of all age and sex classes, in the Gulf of 
Mexico along the Texas and Louisiana coast, over a five year period 
during the course of: (1) photo-identification and boat-based 
behavioral studies; (2) biopsy sampling of 100 individuals for 
contaminant studies; and (3) acoustic playback experiments to test the 
behavioral reaction of the dolphins to ``pingers'' used to deter marine 
mammal entanglement in commercial fishing gear.

    Dated: October 1, 1997.
Ann D. Terbush,
Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-28561 Filed 10-28-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F