[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 228 (Wednesday, November 26, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 63075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30977]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 111497B]


Marine Mammals; Permit No. 1004 (P595)

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

ACTION: Scientific research permit amendment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a request for amendment of 
scientific research no. 1004 submitted by the Whale Conservation 
Institute, 191 Weston Road, Lincoln, MA 01773, has been granted.

ADDRESSES: The amendment and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment, in the following offices:
    Permits Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-
West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-2289); and
    Director, Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, 
MA 01930-2298 (508/281-9250).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 16, 1997, notice was published 
in the Federal Register (62 FR 48611) that an amendment of permit no. 
1004, issued June 21, 1997 (61 FR 33906) had been requested by the 
above-named organization. The requested amendment has been granted 
under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA) 
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 (ESA) as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.), and the regulations governing endangered species permits (50 CFR 
parts 217-227).
    Permit No. 1004 has been amended to: (1) extend the expiration date 
of the permit from June 30, 1998 to November 30, 1998; (2) increase the 
number of imported southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) tissue 
samples taken at Peninsula Valdez, Argentina from 20 to 340; and (3) 
redefine these ``tissue samples'' from southern right whales to include 
baleen, blood and bone, skin/blubber and organ tissues (from dead/
stranded whales), and sloughed skin (from live free-ranging whales).
    Issuance of this amendment as required by the ESA of 1973 was based 
on a finding that the permit: (1) was applied for in good faith; (2) 
will not operate to the disadvantage of the endangered species which is 
the subject of this permit; and (3) is consistent with the purposes and 
policies set forth in Section 2 of the ESA.

    Dated: November 19, 1997.
Ann D. Terbush,
Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-30977 Filed 11-25-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F