[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 242 (Friday, December 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 78242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-32288]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XO45


Marine Mammals; File No. 14241

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for permit amendment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr. Peter Tyack, Woods Hole 
Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA has applied for an amendment 
to Permit No. 14241-02 to conduct research on marine mammals.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before January 17, 2012.

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 home 
page, https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then selecting File No. 14241 
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) 427-8401; fax (301) 713-0376;
    Northeast Region, NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930; phone (978) 281-9300; fax (978) 281-9333; and
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, 
Florida 33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 824-5309.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tammy Adams or Carrie Hubard, (301) 
427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject amendment to Permit No. 14241-02 
is requested 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.
    Permit No. 14241, issued on July 15, 2009 (74 FR 3668), authorizes 
the permit holder to conduct research on cetacean behavior, sound 
production, and responses to sound. The research methods include 
tagging marine mammals with an advanced digital sound recording tag 
that records the acoustic stimuli an animal hears and measures 
vocalization, behavior, and physiological parameters. Research also 
involves conducting sound playbacks in a carefully controlled manner 
and measuring animals' responses. The principal study species are 
beaked whales, especially Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), 
and large delphinids such as long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala 
melas), although other small cetacean species may also be studied. The 
locations for the field work are the Mediterranean Sea, waters off of 
the mid-Atlantic United States, and Cape Cod Bay. The permit has been 
amended twice since issuance. Amendment number 1 (Permit No. 14241-01) 
issued on July 27, 2010 (75 FR 47779): (1) Included authorization for 
collection of a skin and blubber biopsy sample from animals that are 
already authorized to be tagged; (2) added new species for existing 
projects involving tagging, playbacks, and behavioral observations; and 
(3) modified and clarified tagging and playback protocols and 
mitigation for when dependent calves are present. Amendment number 2 
(Permit No. 14241-02), a minor amendment, issued on April 4, 2011, 
modified the sound source protocols and added zinc oxide marking for 
animals being tagged or biopsied. The permit, as amended, is valid 
through July 31, 2014.
    The permit holder has a pending amendment request (76 FR 75524) to: 
(1) Add one new species, Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis), 
for field work in waters off Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
and Virginia; (2) add a new project to Dtag the following species in 
waters off the west coast of North America: Baird's beaked whale 
(Berardius bairdii), Cuvier's beaked whale, Risso's dolphin (Grampus 
griseus), killer whale (Orcinus orca) and Mesoplodont beaked whales 
(Mesoplodon spp); (3) add a new procedure for marking cetaceans with 
zinc oxide; (4) add satellite tagging to long-finned pilot whales in 
approaches to the Mediterranean; and (5) switch some of the playback 
takes initially located in the Mediterranean and eastern North Atlantic 
to the same stocks of long-finned and short-finned (G. macrorhynchus) 
pilot whales off Cape Hatteras, an area where research is already 
authorized. The amendment would not change the expiration date of the 
permit.
    The permit holder is requesting that the pending amendment also 
include: (1) adding waters off Florida to the project for tagging to 
study risks of entanglement is mid-Atlantic states, with no changes in 
the numbers, species, or stocks of marine mammals taken; and (2) 
increasing the number of Baird's beaked whales that may be zinc-marked 
off the west coast of North America from 40 to 80 per year (as part of 
item number 2 above).
    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial determination has been made that 
the activity proposed is categorically excluded from the requirement to 
prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.
    Concurrent with the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, NMFS is forwarding copies of this application to the Marine 
Mammal Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors.

    Dated: December 13, 2011.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-32288 Filed 12-15-11; 8:45 am]
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