[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 135 (Monday, July 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38825-38826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13736]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB40


Endangered Species and Marine Mammals; File No. 10014

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 the New Jersey Department of 
Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Division of Science, Research and 
Technology, P.O. Box 409, Trenton, NJ 08625-0409, has applied in due 
form for a permit to take marine mammals and sea turtles for purposes 
of scientific research.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before August 15, 2007.

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 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)281-9300; fax (978)281-9394.
    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 e-mail comments is [email protected]. Include in the 
subject line of the e-mail comment the following document identifier: 
File No. 10014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Opay or Carrie Hubard, 
(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.), the regulations governing the taking 
and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216) and 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 222-226).
    The NJDEP seeks permission to conduct research to elucidate the 
distribution and abundance of baleen whales, odontocete whales, 
pinnipeds, and sea turtles. Research would include take by survey 
approach during shipboard and aircraft transect surveys of up to 200 
common dolphins, 410 bottlenose dolphins, 100 Atlantic spotted 
dolphins, 100 striped dolphins, 100 pantropical spotted dolphins, 100 
spinner dolphins, 100 clymene dolphins, 10 Northern bottlenosed whales, 
10 melon-headed whales, 25 white-sided dolphins, 10 white-beaked 
dolphins, 10 Risso's dolphins, 200 pilot whales, 100 harbor porpoises, 
10 killer whales, 10 sperm whales, 10 Cuvier's beaked whales, 10 
Mesoplodon whales, 20 pygmy/dwarf sperm whales, 10 pygmy killer whales, 
10 blue whales, 10 sei whales, 25 minke whales, 100 fin whales, 100 
humpback whales, 300 Northern right whales, 1400 harbor seals, 400 gray 
seals, 25 harp seals, 25 hooded seals, 10 hawksbill sea turtles, 100 
leatherback sea turtles, 600 loggerhead sea turtles, 100 Kemp's ridley 
sea turtles, and 50 green sea turtles. The study area would include 
U.S. waters offshore of southern New Jersey out to a distance of 20 
nautical miles. A five-year permit is requested.
    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.


[[Page 38826]]


    Dated: July 10, 2007.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-13736 Filed 7-13-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S