[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 34 (Friday, February 20, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8612-8613]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-4366]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 021298A]


Marine Mammals

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

ACTION: Issuance of permit amendment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr. Christopher W. Clark, Cornell 
University, Ithaca, New York 14850, has been issued an amendment to 
scientific research Permit No. 875-1401.

ADDRESSES: The amendment 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 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-2289); and
    Director, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, 
CA 90802-4213 (562/980-4001).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeannie Drevenak, 301/713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 23, 1997, notice was published 
in the Federal Register (62 FR 61093) that an amendment of Permit No. 
875-1401, issued September 8, 1997 (62 FR 48611) had been requested by 
the above-name individual. The requested amendment has been granted 
under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the provisions of Sec. 216.39 of the 
Regulations Governing the Taking and Importing of Marine Mammals (50 
CFR part 216), the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the provisions of Sec. 222.25 of the

[[Page 8613]]

regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of 
endangered fish and wildlife (50 CFR 222.23).
    The requested amendment has been issued 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).
    Permit No. 875-1401 currently authorizes the harassment of several 
species of marine mammals during the conduct of research to study the 
effects of low-frequency sound produced by the Navy's Surface Towed 
Array Surveillance System Low Frequency Active (SURTASS LFA) system on 
the behavior of blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) and fin whales 
(Balaenoptera physalus) feeding in the Southern California Bight during 
September/October of 1997 and/or 1998. It was amended on December 10, 
1997 to provide for the conduct of playback experiments using a SURTASS 
LFA sound source to study behavioral responses of gray whales 
(Eschrichtius robustus) to SURTASS LFA signals, radio tagging via 
suction cup attachment of up to 14 gray whales, and harassment of 
individuals of several other species of cetaceans, pinnipeds, and 
possibly sea turtles, may be taken (i.e., by harassment or auditory 
temporary threshold shift) during the studies on gray whales. Permit 
No. 875-1401 has now been amended to authorize the conduct of playback 
experiments using the SURTASS LFA sound source to study behavioral 
responses of breeding and nursing humpback whales (Megaptera 
novaeangliae) and foraging sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in 
Hawaii from mid-February through mid-April of 1998. Individuals of 
several other cetacean, pinniped, and sea turtle species may be taken 
(i.e., by harassment or auditory temporary threshold shift) during the 
proposed experiments.
    Issuance of this permit, as required by the ESA, was based on a 
finding that such 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: February 12, 1998.
Art Jeffers,
Acting Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-4366 Filed 2-19-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F