[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11132-11133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5144]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XT21


Marine Mammals; File No. 555-1870

AGENCY:  National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

[[Page 11133]]

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:  Notice; issuance of permit amendment.

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SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that James T. Harvey, Ph.D., Moss 
Landing Marine Laboratories, 8272 Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing, CA 
95039, has been issued a major amendment to Permit No. 555-1870-00.

ADDRESSES:  The permit amendment 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
    Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long 
Beach, CA 90802-4213; phone (562)980-4001; fax (562)980-4018.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 8, 2009, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (74 FR 64686) that a request for an amendment to 
Permit No. 555-1870-00 to conduct research on harbor seals (Phoca 
vitulina) had been submitted by the above-named applicant. One project 
in the requested permit amendment (increasing the number of animals 
taken in the wild) has been issued and another project in the requested 
amendment (temporary captivity of wild seals) has been denied under the 
authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and the regulations governing the taking and 
importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216).
    The permit amendment (Permit No. 555-1870-01) authorizes an 
increase in the number of harbor seal pups taken annually in California 
by capture, sedation, tagging, and sampling from 40 seals (20 males and 
20 females) to 70 seals (35 males and 35 females). The request to bring 
up to six seals into temporary captivity for a pilot study to assess 
the efficacy of a modified sedation protocol for the surgical 
implantation of subcutaneous tag implants was denied. The facility 
proposed did not meet minimum standards for space as required by Animal 
Welfare Act regulations for the humane handling, care and treatment of 
marine mammals. Therefore, the applicant could not demonstrate that the 
activity proposed was humane and did not present any unnecessary risks 
to the health and welfare of the marine mammals (50 CFR 216.34(1)(a)).
    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), a final determination has been made that the 
activity proposed is categorically excluded from the requirement to 
prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.

    Dated: February 24, 2010.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-5144 Filed 3-9-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S