[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13562-13563]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5556]


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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; issuance of permit amendment.

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

ADDRESSES: The permit amendment and related documents are available for 
review upon written request or by appointment in the following offices: 
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 16, 2011, notice was published 
in the Federal Register (76 FR 78242) that a request for an amendment 
to Permit No. 14241-02 to conduct research on marine mammals had been 
submitted by the above-named applicant. The requested permit amendment 
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 has been amended to include (1) adding waters off 
Florida to the project for tagging to study risks of entanglement in 
mid-Atlantic states; (2) one new species, Atlantic spotted dolphin 
(Stenella frontalis), for field work in waters off Florida, Georgia, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia; (3) 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 
(Ziphius cavirostris), Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus), killer whale 
(Orcinus orca) and Mesoplodont beaked whales (Mesoplodon spp); (4) a 
new procedure for marking cetaceans with zinc oxide; (5) satellite 
tagging to long-finned pilot whales in approaches to the Mediterranean; 
and (6) switching some of the playback takes initially located in the 
Mediterranean and eastern North Atlantic to the same stocks of long-
finned (Globicephala melas) and short-finned (G. macrorhynchus) pilot 
whales off Cape Hatteras. The amendment is valid through the original 
expiration date of the permit, July 31, 2014.
    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.
    Documents may be reviewed in the following locations:
    Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; 
phone (301) 427-8401; fax (301) 713-0376;
    Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., BIN C15700, Bldg. 
1, Seattle, WA 98115-0700; phone (206) 526-6150; fax (206) 526-6426;
    Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long 
Beach,

[[Page 13563]]

CA 90802-4213; phone (562) 980-4001; fax (562) 980-4018;
    Northeast Region, NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930; phone (978) 281-9328; fax (978) 281-9394; and
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 
33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 824-5309.

    Dated: March 2, 2012.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-5556 Filed 3-6-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P