[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 29 (Friday, February 11, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6997-6998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-3284]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 020300B]


Marine Mammals; File Nos. 675-1563, 378-1564 and P595

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

ACTION: Receipt of applications.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr. Graham A.J. Worthy (File No. 
675-1563), Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Laboratory, 
Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University, 5001 Avenue U, 
Suite 105, Galveston, TX 77551; Alaska Department of Fish and Game 
(File No. 358-1564), Division of Wildlife Conservation, 1255 W. 8th 
Street, P.O. Box 25526, Juneau, AK 99802-5526, have each applied in due 
form for a permit to take marine mammals for purposes of scientific 
research; and the Whale Conservation Institute (File No. P595), 191 
Weston Road, Lincoln, Massachusetts 01773, requests an amendment to 
Permit No. 1004.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments must be received on or before 
March 13, 2000.

ADDRESSES: All applications and related documents are available for 
review upon written request or by appointment in the Permits and 
Documentation Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-
West Highway, Room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-2289); and
    File Nos. 675-1563 and 358-1564: Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 
21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668 (907/586-7221);
    File No. P595: Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930, (978/281-9250); and
    File No. 675-1563: Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center 
Drive

[[Page 6998]]

North, St. Petersburg, FL 33702-2432 (813/570-5312).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ruth Johnson, 301/713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permits and amendment request 
are requested under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
of 1972, as amended (MMPA; 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, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.), the regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting 
of endangered and threatened species (50 CFR 222-226), and the Fur Seal 
Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.).
    File No. 675-1563, Dr. Graham Worthy requests authority to take up 
to 30 northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) mother/pup pairs and 30 
additional pups over a 3-year period. Animals will be blood and tissue 
sampled and flipper tagged. Adult females will have a milk sample 
extracted. Activities will occur on the Pribilof Islands, Alaska.
    File No. 358-1564, Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) 
requests authority to take Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) over 
a 5-year period. Animals of all ages and both sexes will be taken 
during aerial and land-based surveys, capture and release activities 
that include tissue and blood sampling, tagging and attachment of 
scientific instruments, branding, and administering immobilizing drugs. 
Activities will occur in Alaska and British Columbia.
    File No. P595, Whale Conservation Institute, Permit No. 1004 
authorizes the Holder to import right whale tissue samples, and samples 
from other cetaceans, from Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, 
Peru, and Chile. The Holder requests an amendment to: increase the 
number of samples to be imported; increase the number of locations 
where samples are taken and imported; and extend the permit one 
additional year.
    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial determination has been made that 
the activity proposed is categorically excluded from the requirement to 
prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing on these 
applications should be mailed to the Chief, Permits and Documentation 
Division, F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West 
Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals 
requesting a hearing should set forth the specific reasons why a 
hearing on these particular requests 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 by other 
electronic media.
    Concurrent with the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, NMFS is forwarding copies of these applications to the Marine 
Mammal Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors.

    Dated: February 3, 2000.
Jeannie Drevenak,
Acting Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-3284 Filed 2-10-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F