[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 156 (Monday, August 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42523-42524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20283]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 080201D]


Marine Mammals; File No. 1007-1629

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

ACTION: Issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Leszek Karczmarski, Ph.D., Marine 
Mammal Research Program, Texas A&M University, 4700 Avenue U, Building 
303, Galveston, Texas 77551, has been issued a permit to take Hawaiian 
spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) for purposes of scientific 
research.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments must be received on or before 
September 12, 2001.

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; 
phone (301) 713-2289; fax (301) 713-0376;
    Protected Species, Pacific Islands Area Office, NMFS, 1601 
Kapiolani Blvd., Room 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814-4700; phone (808) 973-
2935; fax (808) 973-2941; and
    Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long 
Beach, CA 90802-4213; phone (562) 980-4001; fax (562) 980-4018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Lewandowski, Trevor Spradlin or 
Lynne Barre, 301/713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 24, 2001, notice was published in the 
Federal Register (66 FR 28733) that a

[[Page 42524]]

request for a scientific research permit to take Hawaiian spinner 
dolphins had been submitted by the above-named individual.
    Specific research objectives include: (a) comparing population 
structure and social behavior; (b) assessing the genetic differences 
between the groups/populations in the three atolls and estimating the 
rate of gene flow; (c) determining intra- and inter-group associations 
and intra- and inter-sexual relationships; (d) assessing the effects of 
social behavior on genetic diversity and population structure relative 
to the geographic distance between the atolls; and (e) producing an 
evolutionary model of spinner dolphin social structure and mating 
system relative to habitat, where both ecological and social selective 
pressures are considered.
    In meeting these research objectives, the applicant requested 
authorization to take 1,400 individual spinner dolphins annually by 
photo-identification and behavioral observation (both above and below 
water) and 400 individual spinner dolphins annually through the 
collection of genetic swab samples with a maximum of 700 swab samples 
collected over the course of the permit. The applicant also requests 
authorization to take additional individual spinner dolphins incidental 
to the above listed research activities.
    The requested permit has been issued under the authority of the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 
seq.) and the Regulations Governing the Taking and Importing of Marine 
Mammals (50 CFR part 216).
    Issuance of this 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.

    Dated: August 7, 2001.
Eugene T. Nitta,
Acting Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-20283 Filed 8-10-01; 8:45 am]
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