[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 24443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11375]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 050103D]


Marine Mammals; File No. 881-1710

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

ACTION: Receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC), 
301 Railway Avenue, Seward, AK 99664, (Shannon Atkinson, Ph.D., 
Principal Investigator) has applied in due form for a permit to take 
harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) for purposes of scientific research.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments must be received on or before June 
6, 2003.

ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for 
review upon written request 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; and
    Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668; phone 
(907)586-7221; fax (907)586-7249.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ruth Johnson or Amy Sloan, (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.), and the Regulations Governing the 
Taking and Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216).
    To better investigate potential causes of the decline of harbor 
seals in the Gulf of Alaska, the ASLC is restructuring their captive 
population to represent young, healthy seals from genetic stocks 
affected by the Gulf of Alaska decline. To accomplish this, eight 
recently weaned harbor seals will be captured from the wild over a two 
to three year period in the Gulf of Alaska for long-term holding and 
research at the ASLC. Seals will be captured in nets and transported in 
kennels to the ASLC for permanent captivity. A maximum of 30 capture 
attempts will occur per year. During seal capture attempts in the wild, 
up to 20 seals may incidentally be caught in nets and released, and up 
to 100 seals may be incidentally disturbed at the haul-out sites. 
Weaned female pups captured for permanent captivity will be sampled in 
the wild as follows: sedation or anesthesia; body mass, morphometrics, 
and 3D photogrammetry; blood, blubber, whisker, and skin samples; body 
composition; flipper tagging and microchip implant; ultrasound; fecal 
and urine collection; skin and mucosal swabs; endoscopy; and disease 
screening. Two accidental mortalities per year are requested during 
activities conducted in the wild and during transport.
    Once at the ASLC, the following will be performed on the harbor 
seals: monthly health assessments (as described in sampling above); 
hormone challenge experiments twice yearly; weights and measurements 
taken up to daily; blood sampling up to once a week; fecal and urine 
sampling 12 times a year, with dietary markers used four times per 
year; blubber ultrasound up to daily; bio-electrical impedance once a 
month; total blood volume determination once a month; deuterium oxide 
administration and blood sampling once per month; feeding trials four 
times a year; mucosal swabs, saliva collection, examination of external 
genitalia up to three times per week; blubber biopsies up to eight 
times per year; video, photographic, radiographic, digital, and thermal 
imaging as needed; anesthesia and sedation as deemed necessary by the 
attending veterinarian. Up to two research-related mortalities per year 
are requested for the harbor seals once held at ASLC.
    This study investigates the importance of lipids in the diets of 
harbor seals and the long-term effects of high and low lipid diets on 
the growth, development, maturity, and health of seals. The ASLC 
proposes to measure a suite of growth and health parameters for seals 
fed a mixed species diet that differ only with the presence of high and 
low fat herring and test whether seals that are lean due to lower 
dietary lipids show, relative to the seals fed a higher lipid diet: (1) 
Decreased growth rates; (2) delayed reproduction; (3) altered ovulation 
times; (4) endocrine or immune system function that may adversely 
affect reproduction or survival; (5) different seasonal or age-related 
physiological responses affecting digestive efficiency and lipid 
storage. The following types of samples will be collected from each of 
the eight harbor seals held at ASLC: blood, blubber, whisker, skin, 
urine, feces, and skin and mucosal swabs. The applicant has requested a 
five-year permit.
    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 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 to the Marine 
Mammal Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors.

    Dated: May 1, 2003.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-11375 Filed 5-6-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S