[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 114 (Thursday, June 12, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 33399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-13246]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XI33


Marine Mammals; File No. 13428

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 Niladri Basu, Ph.D., Department 
of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, 109 South 
Observatory Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, has applied in due form for 
a permit to import tissues from baikal seals (Phoca sibirica) from 
Japan for the purpose of scientific research.

DATES:  Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before July 14, 2008.

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. 13428.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Jennifer Skidmore or Kate Swails, 
(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).
    The applicant is requesting authorization to import 40 brain 
tissues from baikal seals. These samples were collected in 2005 under a 
joint agreement between the East-Siberian Research and Production 
Fisheries Center (Russia) and the Center for Marine Environmental 
Studies (Japan). The purpose of this study is to determine: (1) the 
types and amounts of heavy metals that baikal seals accumulate in 
specific brain regions; and (2) whether these exposures are a 
neurotoxicological concern by using novel biomarker technologies. A 
permit is requested for the duration of one year.
    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial determination has been made that 
the activity proposed is categorically excluded from the requirement to 
prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.
    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: June 6, 2008.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-13246 Filed 6-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S