[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 630-631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-232]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 122303L]


Marine Mammals; File No. 642-1536

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

ACTION: Receipt of application for amendment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Joseph R. Mobley, Jr., Ph.D., 
Professor Psychology, University of Hawaii-West Oahu, 96-129 Ala Ike, 
Pearl City, Hawaii 96782 (Principal Investigator: Dr. Joe Mobley), has 
requested an amendment to scientific research Permit No. 642-1536-00.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments must be received on or before 
February 5, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The amendment request 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
    Protected Species Coordinator, Pacific Islands Region Office, NMFS, 
1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Rm, 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814-4700; phone 
(808)973-2935; fax (808)973-2941.
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this request 
should be submitted 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 amendment 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 other electronic 
media.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Lewandowski, (301)713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject amendment to Permit No. 642-
1536-00, issued on March 15, 2000 (65 FR 13949) is requested under the 
authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended 
(MMPA- 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the

[[Page 631]]

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 
222-226).
    Permit No. 642-1536-00 authorizes the permit holder to conduct 
aerial and vessel-based research, including surface and underwater 
photography/videography for fluke identification and sex verification, 
on North Pacific humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and several 
other species of cetaceans in Hawaii waters. The permit holder now 
requests authorization to add biopsy sampling and suction cup/
implantable bioacoustic tagging of various marine mammal species 
resident to Hawaii, including humpback whales, fin whales (Balaenoptera 
physalus), sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis), Bryde's whales 
(Balaenoptera edeni), killer whales (Orcinus orca), short-finned pilot 
whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), melon-headed whales (Peponocephala 
electra), false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens), spinner dolphins 
(Stenella longirostris), spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata), striped 
dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus), 
rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis), bottlenose dolphins 
(Tursiops truncatus), sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), pygmy 
sperm whales (Kogia breviceps), dwarf sperm whales (Kogia simus), 
Baird's beaked whale (Berardius bairdii), Cuvier's beaked whales 
(Ziphius cavirostris), and Blainville's beaked whales (Mesoplodon 
densirostris). Specifically, the permit holder is requesting 40 tagging 
takes and 80 biopsy takes for humpback whales, 5 tagging takes and 10 
biopsy takes for fin, sei, Bryde's, and killer whales, and 20 tagging 
takes and 40 biopsy takes for all other requested species. Biopsy 
sampling is requested to further study the population structure of the 
above species. Bioacoustic tagging is requested to record and quantify 
the various acoustic stimuli in the animals' environment, with a 
primary objective of tagging singing humpback whale males to further 
understand song structure and duration. The proposed research is 
requested for the duration of the current permit which expires on May 
31, 2005. All research will take place in Hawaiian waters.
    NOAA environmental review procedures provide that scientific 
research permits are generally categorically excluded from the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 
requirements to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) or 
environmental impact statement. However, given that portions of the 
research are directed at species listed as threatened or endangered 
under the ESA, NMFS is currently preparing an EA to determine if the 
proposed activities are likely to result in any significant impacts to 
social, economic, biological or physical environment resources.
    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: December 30, 2003.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-232 Filed 1-5-04; 8:45 am]
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