[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 205 (Friday, October 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56913-56914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28509]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 101598D]


Marine Mammals; Permit No. 926

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

ACTION: Receipt of application for amendment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr. Robin W. Baird, Dalhousie 
University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4J1, Canada, has requested an 
amendment to scientific research Permit No. 959.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 23, 
1998.

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 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-2289);
    Regional Administrator, Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213 
(562/980-4001); and
    Protected Resources Program Manager, Pacific Islands Area Office, 
2570 Dole Street, Room 106, Honolulu, HI 96822-2396 (808/973-2987).
    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, National Marine Fisheries Service, 
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.

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

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 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the regulations governing endangered fish 
and wildlife permits (50 CFR Parts 217-222).
    The Permit Holder is currently authorized to: radio tag via suction 
cup attachment, killer whales (Orcinus orca) and Dall's porpoise 
(Phocoenoides dalli) annually in the waters of Washington, Southeast 
Alaska, Oregon, and California over a five year period; and to suction-
cup TDR/VHF tag the following additional species of cetaceans: Baird's 
beaked whales (Berardius bairdii), Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius 
cavirostris), sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), northern right 
whale dolphins (Lissodelphis borealis), Pacific white-sided dolphins 
(Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus), 
short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), false killer 
whales (Pseudorca crassidens), minke whales (Balaenoptera 
acutorostrata), and gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus).
    The Permit Holder is now requesting authorization to: (1) expand 
the geographic research area to include Hawaii waters; (2) include 
suction-cup TDR/VHF tagging of several additional species of marine 
mammals found in Hawaii waters (i.e., spotted dolphins (Stenella 
attenuata), spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris), rough-toothed 
dolphins (Steno bredanensis), pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata), 
melon headed whales (Peponocephala electra), Blainville's or dense 
beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris), and humpback whales (Megaptera 
novaeangliae)); and (3) collect photo-identification and behavioral 
information on small odontocetes in Hawaii waters (i.e., those 
odontocete species listed above as well as bottlenose dolphins 
(Tursiops truncatus) and those species which are currently covered in 
the existing permit that are found in Hawaii waters (i.e., short-finned 
pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), false killer whales 
(Pseudorca crassidens), Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris), 
sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), Risso's dolphins (Grampus 
griseus), and killer whales (Orcinus orca).
    The primary goal of the proposed research on the subject species is 
to study their diving behavior using time-depth recorder data.
    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.


[[Page 56914]]


    Dated: October 20, 1998.
Ann D. Terbush,
Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-28509 Filed 10-22-98; 8:45 am]

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