[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 86 (Tuesday, May 4, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24586-24587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-10074]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 042304E]


Marine Mammals; File Nos. 42-1642, 482-1653, and 1026-1671

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

ACTION: Issuance of permit amendments.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the following applicants have been 
issued amendments to their existing scientific research permits to 
study marine mammals:
    Permit No. 42-1642-02: Mystic Aquarium, 55 Coogan Blvd., Mystic, CT 
06355 (Dr. Lisa Mazarro, Principal Investigator);
    Permit No. 482-1653-01: James Gilbert, Ph.D., University of Maine, 
Department of Wildlife Ecology, 210 Nutting Hall, Orono, Maine 04469; 
and
    Permit No. 1026-1671-00: Belinda L. Rubinstein, New England 
Aquarium, Central Wharf, Boston, MA 02110.

[[Page 24587]]


ADDRESSES: The amendments 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
    Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-
2298; phone (978)281-9200; fax (978)281-9371.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 24, 2004, notice was published 
in the Federal Register (69 FR 8386) that amendments of the above-named 
permits had been requested by the above-named individuals and 
organization. The requested amendments have been granted 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 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the regulations governing endangered 
and threatened fish and wildlife (50 CFR parts 222-226).
    Permit No. 42-1642-02, as amended, authorizes the permit holder 
(Mystic Aquarium) to collect, receive, import, and export blood, milk, 
and other soft parts from all non-listed and certain listed marine 
mammals under NMFS jurisdiction in order to: (1) Study metabolic 
clearance rates of vitamins A and E in captive Steller sea lions 
(Eumetopias jubatus); (2) establish the vitamin A and E status of free-
ranging Steller sea lions; (3) determine the metabolic requirements for 
these vitamins; and (4) study the disease hemochromatosis (an excessive 
accumulation of iron in tissues) and conduct general marine mammal 
health research, including Brucella and immune and nervous system 
studies.
    Permit No. 482-1653-01, as amended, authorizes the permit holder 
(James Gilbert) to capture, mark, sex, measure, blood sample, radio 
tag, VHF tag, biopsy, monitor heart rate, determine blood volume, and 
monitor via aerial survey harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in order to 
study seal depredations at Atlantic salmon aquaculture farms in New 
England, population structure and foraging ecology, and behavioral and 
physiological development of diving in seal pups.
    Permit No. 1026-1671-00, as amended, authorizes the permit holder 
(Belinda Rubinstein) to capture, tag, sample (including tooth 
extraction, blubber biopsy, sample lesions, blood and milk collection, 
oral and anal swabs, urine and feces), take rectal temperatures and use 
a pulse oxymeter to monitor animals' conditions during procedures, 
ultrasound for blubber thickness measurements, and release solitary 
animals of five pinniped species including harbor seal, harp seal 
(Phoca groenlandica), gray seal (Halichoerus grypus), hooded seal 
(Cystophora cristata), and ringed seal (Phoca hispida) in the wild and 
in rehabilitation facilities. Samples may be exported and re-imported 
for analyses. The purposes of the research are to study habitat 
utilization using satellite telemetry and flipper tagging, determine 
stock association, and monitor health of phocids along the east coast 
of the U.S., from Maine to Virginia.

    Dated: April 28, 2004.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-10074 Filed 5-3-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S