[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13102-13103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3629]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 030706C]


Marine Mammals; File No. 1093-1834

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Susan Shaw, PhD., Executive 
Director, Marine Environmental Research Institute, 55 Main Street, P.O. 
Box 1652, Blue Hill, ME, 04614, has applied in due form for a permit to 
conduct research on harbor seals (Phoca vitulina concolor).

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before April 13, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The application 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

[[Page 13103]]

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301)713-2289; fax (301)427-2521; 
and
    Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-
2298; phone (978)281-9200; fax (978)281-9371.
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this 
application should be mailed 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 request would be appropriate.
    Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301)427-2521, 
provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and 
postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period.
    Comments may also be submitted by e-mail. The mailbox address for 
providing email comments is [email protected]. Include in the 
subject line of the e-mail comment the following document identifier: 
File No. 1093-1834.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is requested under the 
authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended 
(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and the Regulations Governing the 
Taking and Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216).
    The applicant requests a 5-year permit to investigate the utility 
of free-ranging harbor seals as a mammalian sentinel species for 
coastal contamination and associated health risks for top consumers in 
the marine food chain. Harbor seal pups tend to accumulate high body 
burdens of persistent organic pollutants. The applicant proposes to 
capture up to 280 harbor seal pups at six locations from Maine to 
Massachusetts over the course of the permit. The animals would be 
captured using seine nets or hand held hoop nets, measured, weighed, 
blood sampled, blubber/skin biopsied, swabbed for fecal and nasal 
samples, and released. The applicant also requests authorization for 
the research-related mortality of up to two seals over the course of 
the permit.
    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: March 8, 2006.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-3629 Filed 3-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S