[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 107 (Friday, June 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32144-32145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-13840]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XZ51


Marine Mammals; File No. 15543

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Randall S. Wells, Ph.D. (Principal

[[Page 32145]]

Investigator), Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, c/o Mote Marine 
Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, has been 
issued a permit to conduct research on bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops 
truncatus).

ADDRESSES: The permit 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) 713-0376;
Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, 
Florida 33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 824-5309.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 19, 2010, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (75 FR 64247) that a request for a permit to 
conduct research on bottlenose dolphins had been submitted by the 
above-named applicant. The requested permit has 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 permit authorizes annual takes of up to 15,050 animals for 
photo-identification and behavioral studies and remote biopsy sampling 
of up to 100 individual dolphins. Fifty dolphins a year may be 
captured, examined, sampled, tagged, marked, and released for health 
assessment studies. Research may occur in the shallow inshore and 
coastal waters of west Florida out to 50 miles offshore, with a focus 
along the central west coast, from Clearwater southward to Fort Myers. 
Females with calves less than one year old will not be captured. The 
research will provide crucial background information population 
structure, dynamics, life history, social structure, genetic structure 
including paternity patterns, and human interactions. The sampling and 
tagging will support health assessment, auditory system, feeding, and 
ranging pattern studies. Research will also include assessments of oil 
spill impacts at individual and population levels. Permit No. 15543 
expires on June 1, 2016.
    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: May 26, 2011.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-13840 Filed 6-2-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P