[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11131-11132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5014]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XR52


Marine Mammals; File No. 14534

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

ACTION:  Notice; receipt of amended application.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that Ned Cyr, Director, NOAA Office of 
Science and Technology, Silver Spring, MD, has submitted a revised 
application for a permit to conduct research on marine mammals in the 
Pacific Ocean.

DATES:  Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before April 9, 2010.

ADDRESSES:  The application and related documents are available for 
review by selecting ``Records Open for Public Comment'' from the 
``Features'' box on the Applications and Permits for Protected Species 
(APPS) home page, https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then selecting File 
No. 14534 from the list of available applications.
    These documents are also available 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) 713-0376; and
    Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long 
Beach, CA 90802-4213; phone (562) 980-4001; fax (562) 980-4018.
    Written comments on this application should be submitted to the 
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, at the address 
listed above. Comments may also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 713-
0376, or by e-mail to [email protected]. Please include the 
File No. in the subject line of the e-mail comment.
    Those individuals requesting a public hearing should submit a 
written request to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 
Division at the address listed above. The request should set forth the 
specific reasons why a hearing on this application would be 
appropriate.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 11, 2009, notice was published 
(74 FR 46745) of a request for a permit 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 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 original application is a request for a five-year permit to 
conduct a research program involving studies of sound production, 
diving and other

[[Page 11132]]

behavior, and responses to sound of marine mammals, including 
endangered species. The results would be integrated with related 
studies and directly contribute to conservation management for sound 
producers and regulatory agencies by identifying characteristics of 
target species that are critical for passive monitoring, detection, 
and/or density estimation and by demonstrating how specific sounds, 
including simulated military sonar, may evoke behavioral responses in 
marine mammals. The experimental design involves temporarily attaching 
individual recording tags to measure vocalization, behavior, and 
physiological parameters as well as sound exposure. Behavior will be 
measured before, during, and after carefully controlled exposures of 
sound in conventional playback experiments. Tagged subjects will be 
exposed to received sound levels up to 180 dB re: 1[micro]Pa. This 
study will involve various activities that could take animals by 
harassment, including close approaches, attachment of tags, and sound 
exposure. Small fragments of sloughed skin, which often remain attached 
to retrieved tags, would be used for genetic analyses. Target species 
include beaked whales and other odontocetes, key baleen whales, and 
pinniped species for whom such data have not been previously obtained; 
other marine species may be incidentally impacted. Please refer to the 
tables in the application for the numbers of marine mammals, by species 
and stock, that are proposed for this permit. The research will be 
focused in the waters within the U.S. Navy's Southern California Range 
Complex, and primarily near the vicinity of San Clemente Island.
    The applicant has revised the application to (1) increase the 
number of Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus), bottlenose dolphins 
(Tursiops truncatus), Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus 
obliquidens), and northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) 
that may be harassed by close approach, focal follow, tag attachment, 
and sound exposure, to include these species as focal animals in the 
overall objectives; (2) increase the number of requested ``tagless'' 
playbacks for some cetacean species, such as blue whales (Balaenoptera 
musculus) and fin whales (B. physalus) and the social pelagic 
delphinids, but not for the more solitary and deep-diving beaked whale 
species, to increase data obtained on behavioral responses; (3) modify 
the proposed action area slightly northward to 35[deg] 0' N; the 
longitude boundaries remain as before (from 116[deg] 0' to 127[deg] 0' 
W); and (4) clarify tagging and playback protocols and mitigation for 
when dependent calves are present.
    Concurrent with the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, NMFS is forwarding copies of the application to the Marine 
Mammal Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors.

    Dated: March 3, 2010.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-5014 Filed 3-9-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S