[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 120 (Monday, June 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37139-37140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-15803]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 060903B]


Marine Mammals; File No. 848-1695

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

ACTION: Issuance of permit.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Marine Mammal Research 
Program, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu Laboratory, 
2570 Dole Street, Honolulu, HI 96822 (Principal Investigator, Dr. Bud 
Antonelis), has been issued a permit to take Hawaiian monk seals 
(Monachus schauinslandi) for purposes of scientific research and 
enhancement.

ADDRESSES: The permit 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
    PProtected Species Coordinator, Pacific Islands Regional Office, 
NMFS, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Rm, 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814-4700; phone 
(808)973-2935; fax (808)973-2941.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Sloan or Ruth Johnson, (301)713-
2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 22, 2003, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (68 FR 3015) that a request for a scientific 
research and enhancement permit to take the species identified above 
had been submitted by the above-named organization. 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.), 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 222-226).
    The permit authorizes the Holder to take Hawaiian monk seals in the 
Hawaiian Archipelago and Johnston Atoll over a 5-year period for 
purposes of (1) population assessment (ground monitoring and aerial 
surveys, flipper tagging and retagging, bleach marking, genetics 
analyses) to determine survivorship, reproductive rates, pup 
production, incidence and causes of injury or mortality, and abundance; 
(2) disease and health assessment (health screening of healthy and ill 
animals, lancing of abscesses, analyses of parasites, dietary analyses, 
satellite and VHF tag deployment, euthanasia of moribund animals, 
necropsies) to gain information on pathogens and other

[[Page 37140]]

factors that affect individual animals; and (3) recovery actions 
(relocations and translocations of pups and juveniles, adult male 
removals, and disentanglements) to enhance the survival of the 
population.
    An unlimited number of specimens (hard and soft parts including but 
not limited to blood serum, blubber biopsy, and placentae) may be 
exported to countries (including but not limited to Canada, the 
Netherlands, Scotland, and Australia) for scientific analyses related 
to health assessment of monk seals; samples not used in analyses may be 
re-imported. An unlimited number of specimens (hard and soft parts) 
from Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus) may be imported to 
the U.S. and re-exported to the country of origin for opportunistic 
research related to the conservation of monk seals.
    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: June 10, 2003.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-15803 Filed 6-20-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S