[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 60 (Tuesday, March 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15685-15686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7062]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XV53


Marine Mammals; Issuance of Permits

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

ACTION:  Notice; issuance of permits.

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SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that individuals and institutions have 
been issued Letters of Confirmation for activities conducted under the 
General Authorization for Scientific Research on marine mammals. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for a list of names and address of 
recipients.

ADDRESSES:  The Letters of Confirmation and related documents are 
available for review upon written request or by appointment in the 
following office:
    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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Office of Protected Resources, 
Permits Division, (301)713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The requested Letters of Confirmation (LOC) 
have been issued 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 General Authorization allows for bona fide scientific research that 
may result only in taking by level B harassment of marine mammals. The 
following Letters of Confirmation were issued in Fiscal Year 2009.
    File No. 13729: Issued to The Wild Dolphin Project, 612 N. Orange 
Ave. Suite A-12, Jupiter, FL 33458 on February 13, 2009, to study 
abundance, distribution, and residency of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops 
truncatus) in the Intracoastal Waterway of Palm Beach County, Florida, 
and to determine species diversity, abundance, and distribution of 
cetaceans offshore of Palm Beach County, Florida. The LOC expires 
February 28, 2014.
    File No. 14227: Issued to Dr. Robert H. Day, ABR, Inc. 
Environmental Research and Services, Fairbanks, AK 99708 on February 
13, 2009, to study seasonal abundance and distribution of marine 
mammals in Cook Inlet, Alaska. Aerial surveys will be conducted to 
census harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), harbor

[[Page 15686]]

porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli), 
minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorstrata), gray whales (Eschrichtius 
robustus), and killer whales (Orcinus orca). The LOC expires on 
February 17, 2014.
    File No. 14157: Issued to Marilyn Mazzoil, Harbor Branch 
Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University, 5600 U.S. 1 
North, Fort Pierce, FL 34946 on February 23, 2009, for vessel surveys, 
photo-identification, and behavioral observations of bottlenose 
dolphins from the Florida-Georgia border south to New Smyrna Beach, 
Florida. The objectives of the research are to examine the abundance 
and distribution of bottlenose dolphins in the study area. Activities 
may be conducted through March 1, 2014.
    File No. 14219: Issued to Dr. Tara Cox, Savannah State University, 
PO Box 20467, Savannah, GA 31404 on February 23, 2009, for surveys, 
photo-identification, and behavioral observations of bottlenose 
dolphins. The purpose of the research is to investigate foraging 
ecology, social structure, and population structure of dolphins in the 
estuarine and coastal waters of Georgia and southern South Carolina. 
Activities may be conducted through March 1, 2014.
    File No. 14275: Issued to Dr. Gregory Bossart, Georgia Aquarium, 
225 Baker Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30313 on February 23, 2009, for 
surveys, photo-identification and behavioral observations of bottlenose 
dolphins. The purpose of the research is to examine the abundance, 
distribution, and stock structure of dolphins in the Indian River 
Lagoon, Florida and adjacent Atlantic waters. Activities may be 
conducted through March 1, 2014.
    File No. 808-1798-01: Issued to Dr. Andrew Read at Duke University 
Marine Laboratory, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516 on May 
1, 2009, for aerial and vessel surveys, photo-identification, 
behavioral observations, and passive acoustics on a variety of cetacean 
species through September 30, 2010. The original study area was from 
the North Carolina/Virginia border south to North Charleston, South 
Carolina. The study area was expanded to allow researchers to work 
further south, to 29 degrees N. Also, 13 species of dolphins and whales 
were added to the LOC. This amended LOC supercedes version 808-1798 
issued on September 20, 2005.
    File No. 14348: Issued to the National Ocean Service's Center for 
Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research [Principal 
Investigator: Eric Zolman], 219 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412 
on July 1, 2009 for photo-identification and behavioral observations of 
bottlenose dolphins through June 30, 2014. The purpose of the research 
is to investigate the residency, stock identity, range, distribution, 
abundance, and health of dolphins in the estuarine and coastal waters 
of Georgia and South Carolina.
    File No. 14590: Issued to the National Marine Mammal Laboratory 
[Principal Investigator: Peter Boveng, Ph.D], 7600 Sand Point Way NE, 
Seattle, WA 98115 on July 24, 2009 for aerial surveys of harbor seals 
through August 1, 2014. The results of the surverys for the basis of 
the NMFS Stock Assessment Reports as well as provide information on the 
haul-out behavior and habitat requirements of harbor seals in Alaska. 
The LOC expires August 1, 2014.
    File No. 14475: Issued to The Dolphin Project (TDP) [Principal 
Investigator: Francis Lapolla], P.O. Box 60753, Savannah, GA 31420, on 
August 7, 2009 for photo-identification and behavioral observations of 
bottlenose dolphins through July 30, 2014. The purpose of the research 
is to: (1) monitor the resident bottlenose dolphin population in the 
contiguous inland waters of Georgia and the southern South Carolina 
estuarine system and (2) continue to develop TDP's dorsal fin 
photograph catalogue and database to document site fidelity, home range 
movement, immigration/emigration and social behaviors exhibited by the 
Georgia estuarine population.
    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 
activities are categorically excluded from the requirement to prepare 
an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.

    Dated: March 23, 2010.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-7062 Filed 3-29-10; 8:45 am]
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