[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 159 (Friday, August 17, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 46213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16227]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 041107A]


Marine Mammals; File No. 1121-1900

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

ACTION:  Notice; issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that NOAA Fisheries Office of Science 
and Technology (Principal Investigator: Dr. Brandon Southall), Silver 
Spring, MD, has been issued a permit to conduct research marine 
mammals.

ADDRESSES:  The permit 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; http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/review.htm; and
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, 
Florida 33701; phone (727)824-5312; fax (727)824-5309.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 17, 2007, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (72 FR 19181) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris and 
Mesoplodon spp.) and other odontocete species had been submitted by the 
above-named institution. The requested permit has been issued 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 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the regulations 
governing the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and 
threatened species (50 CFR parts 222-226), and the Fur Seal Act of 
1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.).
    The permit authorizes research involving temporary attachment of 
scientific instruments (digital archival recording tags), photo-
identification, and exposure to controlled levels of natural and 
anthropogenic underwater sounds, including signals simulating mid-
frequency sonar. Sloughed skin samples collected from the detached 
instrument would be imported into the U.S. for analysis. The permit is 
valid through January 2009.
    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an environmental assessment was prepared 
analyzing the effects of the permitted activities. After a Finding of 
No Significant Impact, the determination was made that it was not 
necessary to prepare an environmental impact statement.
    Issuance of this permit, as required by the ESA, was based on a 
finding that such permit: (1) Was applied for in good faith; (2) will 
not operate to the disadvantage of such endangered species; and (3) is 
consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the 
ESA.

    Dated: August 14, 2007.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-16227 Filed 8-16-07; 8:45 am]
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