[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 106 (Monday, June 4, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30775-30776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-10721]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA59


Marine Mammals; File No. 642-1536-03

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for amendment.

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[[Page 30776]]

SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that Joseph R. Mobley, University of 
Hawaii at Manoa,2528 McCarthy Mall, Webster 404, Honolulu, HI 96822, 
has requested an amendment to scientific research Permit No. 642-1536-
02.

DATES:  Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before July 5, 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
    Pacific Islands Region, 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)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 comment the following document identifier: 
File No. 642-1536-03.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject amendment to Permit No. 642-1536 
issued on March 3, 2000 (65 FR 13949) is requested 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 (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 authorizes the permit holder to conduct aerial 
and vessel-based research, including surface and underwater 
photography/videography for identification and sex verification, on 
North Pacific humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and several 
other species of cetaceans in Hawaii waters. The permit holder is also 
authorized to biopsy sample and suction cup/implantable bioacoustic tag 
various cetacean species resident to Hawaii. The permit holder now 
requests authorization to use sound playback on up to 250 humpback 
whales annually in the waters off W. Maui and possibly other inshore 
areas among the main Hawaiian Islands. The proposed research would 
expand upon earlier work that demonstrated the feasibility of using 
responses of free-ranging humpback whales to biologically meaningful 
sounds as a means of estimating auditory thresholds for humpback 
whales. The amendment would be valid for the remainder 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: May 29, 2007.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-10721 Filed 6-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S