[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 326-327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-91]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 122303J]


Marine Mammals; File No. 1048-1717

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 Dr. Peter J. Stein, Scientific 
Solutions, Inc., Nashua, New Hampshire, has been issued a permit to 
take the marine mammals listed below 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, www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res; and
    Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long 
Beach, CA 90802-4213; phone (562)980-4001; fax (562)980-4018.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 5, 2003, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (68 FR 62563) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take gray whales (Eschrtictius robustus), endangered 
blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), endangered fin whales (B. 
physalus), endangered humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), minke 
whales (B. acutorostrata), endangered sei whales (B. borealis), 
endangered sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), harbor porpoise 
(Phocoena phocoena), Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli), Pacific 
white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), bottlenose dolphins 
(Tursiops truncatus), Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus), short-beaked 
common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), northern right whale dolphins 
(Lissodephis borelais), killer whales (Orcinus orca), short-finned 
pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), Baird's beaked whales 
(Berardius bairdii), mesoplodont beaked whales (Mesoplodon spp.), 
Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris), California sea lions 
(Zalophus californianus), harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), threatened 
Guadalupe fur seals (Arctocephalus

[[Page 327]]

townsendi), northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), northern 
fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus), and threatened Steller sea lions 
(Eumetopias jubatus) had been submitted by the above-named individual 
and that a draft environmental assessment had been prepared on the 
proposed research. An EA has been prepared with a finding of no 
significant impact. 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).
    The permit authorizes Dr. Stein to expose up to 1200 gray whales, 
200 minke whales, 150 harbor porpoise, 150 Dall's porpoise, 400 Pacific 
white-sided dolphin, 150 bottlenose dolphin, 2000 Risso's dolphin, 2000 
short-beaked common dolphin, 1200 northern right whale dolphin, 200 
killer whales, 200 short-finned pilot whales, 30 Baird's beaked whales, 
30 Cuvier's beaked whales, 30 Mesoplodont beaked whales, 500 California 
sea lions, 500 harbor seals, 500 northern elephant seals, and 200 
northern fur seals to sounds from low-power high-frequency ``whale-
finder'' sonars per year offshore of central California. The purpose of 
the proposed research is to validate and improve the ability of whale-
finder sonar systems to detect marine mammals without adversely 
affecting them.

    Dated: December 24, 2003.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-91 Filed 1-2-04; 8:45 am]
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