[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 93 (Monday, May 14, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 24340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-12077]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 042601F]


Marine Mammals; File No. 633-1483-02

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 the Center for Coastal Studies 
(CCS), P.O. Box 1036, Provincetown, MA 02657 (Executive Director: Mr. 
Peter Borrelli, Principal Investigator: Dr. Charles A. Mayo) has been 
issued an amendment to scientific research Permit No. 633-1483-01

ADDRESSES: The amendment 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; 
phone (301)713-2289; fax (301) 713-0376; and
    Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-
2298; phone (978) 281-9200; fax (978) 281-9371.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ruth Johnson or Tammy Adams (301) 713-
2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 31, 2000, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (65 FR 64932) that an amendment of Permit No. 633-
1483-01, issued June 14, 1999, and published June 22, 1999 (64 FR 
33270), had been requested by the above-named organization. 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 
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 
222-226).
    Project I: Amendment No. 2 authorizes attachment of a non-invasive 
optical device (``critter cam'') to seven North Atlantic right whales 
in Cape Cod Bay for collecting video documentation of the zooplankton 
stream passing by feeding whales in order to better assess the 
decision-making of the whales during foraging and the quality of the 
food layer supporting the whales. This documentation will provide a 
subsurface tool for supplementing CCS' on-going oceanographic surveys 
and for ``ground-truthing'' current estimates of prey patch density and 
area in Cape Cod Bay.
    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: May 8,2001.
Ann D. Terbush,
Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-12077 Filed 5-11-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S