[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 8386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-4020]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 102203A]


Marine Mammals; File No. 116-1697

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 Sea World Inc., 7007 Sea World 
Drive, Orlando, FL 32821, has been issued a permit to take one 
Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi) for purposes of 
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;
    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: Amy Sloan or Jennifer Skidmore, 
(301)713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 18, 2003, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (68 FR 19193) that a request for an 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).
    This permit authorizes maintenance of one non-releaseable 
rehabilitated juvenile male Guadalupe fur seal at Sea World of 
California (and other Sea World facilities if relocation is necessary) 
for enhancement purposes. The animal has recurring grand mal seizures 
and thus, release of this animal may be detrimental to the wild 
population due to the undetermined cause of the condition and the 
possibility that it may be hereditary. The animal would be provided 
with daily husbandry care and treatment for seizures, routine medical 
procedures and neutering, and would be available for opportunistic 
research. The applicant has been issued a five-year permit.
    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: February 18, 2004.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-4020 Filed 2-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S