[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 10 (Friday, January 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 2631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1012]



[[Page 2631]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 123198A]


Marine Mammals

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

ACTION: Receipt of application for amendment and notice of emergency 
issuance of permit amendment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that: the Southwest Fisheries Science 
Center, Honolulu Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, 2570 
Dole Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822-2396, has requested an amendment to 
scientific research Permit No. 848-1335; and the Permit has been 
amended according to the provisions of 50 CFR 216.33(e)(6).

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments must be received on or before 
February 16, 1999.

ADDRESSES: The amendment request, amended permit, 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 Species Program Manager, Pacific Islands Area Office, 
2570 Dole Street, Room 106, Honolulu, HI 96822-2396 (808/973-2941).
    Written data or views, or requests for a public hearing on this 
request should be submitted to the Chief, Permits and Documentation 
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.
    Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301) 713-0376, 
provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and 
postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period. Please 
note that comments will not be accepted by e-mail or other electronic 
media.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject amendment has been issued under 
the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended 
(16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the provisions of Secs. 216.33(e)(6) and 
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 regulations governing the taking, importing, and 
exporting of endangered fish and wildlife (50 CFR part 222).
    The Permit Holder is currently authorized to conduct population 
assessment, disease assessment (including health screening), recovery 
actions, and pelagic ecology studies of Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus 
schauinslandi) at all locations within the Hawaiian Archipelago and at 
Johnston Atoll, through May 31, 2002.
    The Holder has now requested that the Permit be amended to: (1) 
authorize the taking of up to 100 additional Hawaiian monk seals for 
disease screening purposes; and (2) authorize the collection and export 
of blubber biopsies for toxicological assessment. This increased taking 
is necessary in order to allow urgently needed sampling and analyses of 
the monk seal population to assess the extent to which the population 
has been exposed to a morbillivirus. Given the severity of this 
pathogen and its known catastrophic impact on other marine mammal 
populations, the amendment has been issued on an emergency basis 
pursuant to 50 CFR 216.33(e)(6).
    Issuance of this amended 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.
    Concurrent with the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, NMFS is forwarding copies of this application and emergency 
permit amendment to the Marine Mammal Commission and its Committee of 
Scientific Advisors.

    Dated: January 7, 1999.
Ann D. Terbush,
Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-1012 Filed 1-14-99; 8:45 am]

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