[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 31 (Thursday, February 15, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7419-7420]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-2688]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D.020907B]


Marine Mammals; File No. 984-1814-01

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for amendment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr. Terrie Williams, Department of 
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Center for Ocean Health - Long Marine 
Laboratory, University of California, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA 
95060, has requested an amendment to scientific research Permit No. 
984-1814.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before March 19, 2007.

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)427-2521; and
    Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long 
Beach, CA 90802-4213; phone (562)980-4001; fax (562)980-4018.
    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)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 e-mail comments is [email protected]. Include in the 
subject line of the e-mail

[[Page 7420]]

comment the following document identifier: File No. 984-1814-01.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject amendment to Permit No. 984-
1814, issued on June 19, 2006 (71 FR 37060), is requested 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).
    Permit No. 984-1814 authorizes the permit holder to capture up to 
20 adult Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) and disturb up to 30 
adult and 10 juvenile seals annuallyin McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. The 
animals have a data logger/video system attached, muscle biopsies and 
blood samples collected, and blubber thickness measured. The permit 
also authorizes up to 3 research-related mortalities per year. The 
permit holder requests an amendment to change the field season for this 
project from five August to December field seasons to three back to 
back field seasons over the course of two research years. This would 
allow researchers to investigate different light phases. Researchers 
would attach data logger/video systems to 24 adult seals and another 24 
seals would have time-depth recorders attached annually. Researchers 
would measure metabolic rates of all captured seals using open-flow 
respirometry.
    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: February 12, 2007.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-2688 Filed 2-14-07; 8:45 am]
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