[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 78 (Wednesday, April 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19974-19975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-10072]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 041703B]


Marine Mammals; File No. 981-1707

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

ACTION: Receipt of application and notice of availability of draft 
environmental assessment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr. Peter L. Tyack, Biology 
Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, 
Massachusetts, 02543, has applied in due form for a permit to take 
various cetacean species for purposes of scientific research. A draft 
environmental assessment has been prepared on the proposed research and 
is available for comment.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments must be received on or before May 
23, 2003.

ADDRESSES: The application, draft environmental assessment, and related 
documents are available for review upon written request, by downloading 
from the internet, or by appointment in the following 
office(s):Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910; phone (301)713-2289; fax (301)713-0376; 
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res;
    Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-
2298; phone (978)281-9200; fax (978)281-9371; and
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive North, St. 
Petersburg, FL 33702-2432; phone (727)570-5301; fax (727)570-5320.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Hubard, Tammy Adams, or Steve 
Leathery, (301)713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is 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.), and the 
regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of 
endangered and threatened species (50 CFR 222-226).The applicant 
requests authorization for a five year permit to take various cetacean 
species, including endangered whales, in the North Atlantic (including 
the Gulf of Mexico) and Mediterranean Sea for scientific purposes 
related to the biology, foraging ecology, communication, and behavior 
of these animals. The research focuses on cetacean responses to 
anthropogenic sounds in the marine environment. Takes would include 
close approach, suction-cup tagging, and playbacks of high frequency 
whale-finding sonar, airgun sounds, and sperm whale codas. The permit 
application covers three research projects which use as their primary 
research method non-intrusive, suction-cup tagging with an advanced 
digital sound recording tag (DTAG). The DTAG can record what an animal 
hears and measure vocal, behavioral, and physiological responses to 
sound. Small fragments of sloughed skin found in the suction-cup of the 
DTAG after retrieval will be exported from field sites and imported for 
genetic analyses. The applicant seeks to test a whale-finding

[[Page 19975]]

sonar developed by a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) undersea 
research lab in Italy. The sonar uses a non-directional sound source 
and a sophisticated directional receiver. This permit application 
covers research to test how well this whale finder detects whales in 
the Mediterranean Sea.
    Project 1 will involve applying DTAGs to a variety of whale and 
dolphin species to study the baseline behavior of animals tagged 
throughout the North Atlantic. The endangered species that the 
applicant plans to tag are: humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae), sei 
(Balaenoptera borealis), fin (Balaenoptera physalus), blue 
(Balaenoptera musculus), and sperm (Physeter macrocephalus) whales. 
There are three main goals of Project 1: (1) to obtain continuous 
sampling of marine mammal vocal and motor behavior, (2) to determine 
correction factors that can be applied to visual sighting data to 
better estimate population and stock abundance, and (3) to serve as a 
control group for Projects 2 and 3, described below.
    The goals of Project 2 are: (1) To validate the effectiveness of a 
high-frequency whale-finding sonar developed by a NATO research lab to 
detect marine mammals based on species, size, and orientation of the 
animal in the water, and (2) to determine what sound levels heard by an 
animal may cause a change in its behavior. Project 2 research will be 
conducted in the Mediterranean Sea and will focus on sperm whales, 
however, other species of whales such as fin and minke (Balaenoptera 
acustostrata) and dolphin species will also be tagged. For Project 2, 
DTAG-tagged animals will be exposed to sounds at received levels of 
120-160 dB re 1 [mu]Pa rms for testing short sounds of a whale-finding 
sonar. Pre-recorded sperm whale vocalizations (codas) will also be 
transmitted to serve as control playbacks. Because monitoring 
techniques for loud operations such as rig removal and ship shock 
trials have typically consisted of visual observations and passive 
acoustic listening, and these methods are not 100 percent effective 
(e.g., at night, during poor weather, when animals are silent), there 
is a need for a more effective tool to detect the presence of marine 
mammals in the vicinity of such loud noises. This need for a detection 
tool has led to the development of low power, mid or high frequency 
sonars that can detect marine mammals within a range of 1-2 km. If 
found to be effective this whale-finding sonar could be used to search 
an area for marine mammals, similar to the sonar used to locate schools 
of fish. If animals are detected in the vicinity of a potentially 
harmful operation, such as an underwater explosion, the event could be 
halted until the animals are safely out of range.
    In Project 3, the applicant will study the responses of tagged 
sperm whales to short impulses from airgun arrays in the Gulf of 
Mexico. Technological advances in the oil and gas industry are allowing 
exploration and drilling in much deeper waters than in the past, which 
may have an increased impact on deep diving marine mammals such as 
sperm whales. Most projections predict strong expansion of industry 
activities into deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico where sperm whales 
reside. The seismic industry uses arrays of airguns to direct sound 
energy downwards into geological strata below the seafloor. Because 
sperm whales spend most of their time below the surface it is not known 
how they react to the sounds of the seismic surveying. The applicant 
proposes to use the DTAG to study how likely sperm whales are to 
silence, move away, or show other disruption of behavior when they are 
exposed to impulse sounds from an airgun array versus natural control 
sounds. Animals will be exposed to airgun sounds at received levels no 
higher than 180 dB re 1 [mu]Pa rms. Sperm whale codas will serve as the 
control playbacks. This project will involve visual observations of 
surfacing sperm whales, passive acoustic tracking of diving sperm 
whales, and tagging sperm whales with DTAGs. Written comments or 
requests for a public hearing on this application should be mailed to 
the Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 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 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 by other 
electronic media.
    Concurrent with the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, NMFS is forwarding copies of this application and the draft 
environmental assessment to the Marine Mammal Commission and its 
Committee of Scientific Advisors.

    Dated: April 18,2003.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-10072 Filed 4-22-03; 8:45 am]
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