[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 180 (Wednesday, September 17, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 54429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-23765]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 080703A]


Marine Mammals; File No. 358-1585-04

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 Alaska Department of Fish and 
Game, P.O. Box 25526, Juneau, Alaska 99802-5526 [Principal 
Investigator: Robert Small, Ph.D.] has been issued an amendment to 
scientific research Permit No. 358-1585-02 as amended by a minor change 
[No. -03].

ADDRESSES: The amendment 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
    Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources, Alaska 
Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668; phone (907)586-
7235; fax (907)586-7012.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 7, 2003, notice was published in the 
Federal Register (68 FR 33477) that an amendment of Permit No. 358-
1585, issued September 30, 2002 (67 FR 64098), 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.) and the Regulations Governing the 
Taking and Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216).
    The amendment authorizes the Holder to conduct additional 
activities on harbor seals that include: permanently marking females 
that receive implanted VHF transmitters to enable identification from a 
distance without further disturbance to determine if female has a pup; 
applying a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag to identify 
recaptured individuals to assess change in health or contaminant loads 
over time; using ultrsound to diagnose pregnancy and reproductive 
condition of females; attaching a sonic tag for realtime tracking of 
foraging behavior while simultaneously conducting acoustical surveys of 
prey availability; and attaching an Underwater Timed Picture Recorder 
(UTPR) with Time Depth Recorder to view prey selection and readily 
calculate pursuit and handling times.

    Dated: September 9, 2003.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-23765 Filed 9-16-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S