[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 236 (Tuesday, December 9, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68596-68597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-30488]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 073103B]


Marine Mammals; File No. 881-1710

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 Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC), 301 
Railway Avenue, Seward, AK 99664, (Shannon Atkinson, Ph.D., Principal 
Investigator) has been issued a permit to take harbor seals (Phoca 
vitulina) for purposes of scientific research.

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
    Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668; phone 
(907)586-7221; fax (907)586-7249.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 7, 2003, notice was published in the 
Federal Register (68 FR 24443) that a request for a scientific research 
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.), and the Regulations Governing the Taking and 
Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216).
    This permit authorizes collection of eight weaned harbor seals from 
the wild over a two to three year period in the Gulf of Alaska for 
long-term holding and research at the ASLC. A maximum of 30 capture 
attempts will occur per year, and during each capture attempt, 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 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.
    Once at the ASLC the following will be performed on the harbor 
seals: monthly health assessments (as described in sampling above); 
hormone challenge experiments; weights and measurements; blood 
sampling; fecal and urine sampling; blubber ultrasound; bio-electrical 
impedance; total blood volume determination; deuterium oxide 
administration; feeding trials; mucosal swabs, saliva collection, 
examination of external genitalia; blubber biopsies; video, 
photographic, radiographic, digital, and thermal imaging; and 
anesthesia and sedation as deemed necessary by the attending 
veterinarian.
    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 permit has 
been issued for a five-year period.


[[Page 68597]]


    Dated: December 2, 2003.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-30488 Filed 12-8-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S