[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 160 (Thursday, August 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42051-42052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20032]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF97


Marine Mammals; File No. 10137-01

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

ACTION:  Notice; issuance of permit amendment and proposed amendment.

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SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that the NMFS Pacific Islands 
Fisheries Science Center, Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), 2570 
Dole Street, Honolulu, HI 96822-2396 (Responsible Party: Frank Parrish, 
Ph.D.), has been issued an amendment to Permit No. 10137 to conduct 
research and enhancement activities on

[[Page 42052]]

Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi).

ADDRESSES:  The permit and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
    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)713-0376; and
    Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Rm 1110, 
Honolulu, HI 96814-4700; phone (808)944-2200; fax (808)973-2941.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 6, 2008, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (73 FR 12137) that a request for a permit to take 
the species identified above had been submitted by the MMRP. The permit 
was issued on June 30, 2009 (74 FR 33210), 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.), and the regulations governing 
the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and threatened 
species (50 CFR parts 222-226). Notice of the proposed amendment was 
published on June 30, 2009 (74 FR 33210).
    Permit No. 10137 authorizes the MMRP to: (1) assess survivorship, 
reproductive rates, pup production, condition, abundance, movements 
among subpopulations, and incidence and causes of injury or mortality 
of Hawaiian monk seals; (2) diagnose disease, monitor exposure to 
disease, and develop normal baseline hematology and biochemistry 
parameters; (3) conduct activities to increase survival of individuals; 
and (4) investigate foraging ecology to determine foraging locations, 
diving parameters, characteristics of foraging substrate, and prey 
identification and foraging behaviors.
    Permit No. 10137-01 amends and replaces Permit No. 10137. Permit 
No. 10137-01 authorizes the activities describe above and includes 
authorization to translocate six pups from French Frigate Shoals to 
Nihoa Island in 2009. Further translocations of up to 20 pup or 
juvenile between islands/atolls within the Northwestern Hawaiian 
Islands, as described in the original permit application, will be 
deferred until a separate Endangered Species Act section 7 consultation 
is completed. At such time, NMFS proposes to amend Permit No. 10137-01 
to include additional translocations of seals. Permit No. 10137-01 
expires on June 30, 2014.
    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, 2009.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-20032 Filed 8-19-09; 8:45 am]
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