[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 213 (Thursday, November 2, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 65841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-28157]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 101200C]


Marine Mammals; File No. 376-1520-01

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. James H.W. Hain, Holder/
Principal Investigator, Associated Scientists of Woods Hole, Box 721, 3 
Water Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, has been issued an 
amendment to permit no. 376-1520 to take marine mammals for purposes of 
scientific research.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment in the following office(s):
    Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/
713-2289);
    Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930, (978/281-9250); and
    Regional Administrator, Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721 Executive 
Center Drive North, St. Petersburg, FL 33702-2432 (813/570-5312).

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 23, 1999, Notice was published in 
the Federal Register (64 FR 33470) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take various cetacean species, harbor and grey 
seals, and sea turtles during aerial/vessel surveys, collect stomach 
contents and baleen, and conduct passive acoustic activities had been 
submitted by the above-named individual. A modified version of the 
permit request was issued on March 20, 2000 under 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, as 
amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the regulations governing 
the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and threatened 
species (50 CFR parts 222-227). The take of right whales, sea turtles, 
and stomach contents/baleen was not issued in the original permit.
    This amendment now authorizes the permit holder to conduct aerial 
surveys and behavioral studies on right whales in the western North 
Atlantic Ocean from a blimp platform at a minimum altitude of 500 feet 
directly above and a minimum altitude of 350 feet slant range. The 
expiration date has also been extended to March 31, 2005.
    Issuance of this amendment, 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: October 26, 2000.
Ann D. Terbush,
Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-28157 Filed 11-1-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE: 3510-22-S