[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 88 (Monday, May 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 26747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10966]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA288


Marine Mammals; File No. 15748

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 the Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC), 
Seward, AK, has applied for an amendment to Scientific Research Permit 
No. 15748.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before June 6, 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. 15748 
from the list of available applications.
    These documents are also available upon written request or by 
appointment in the following offices:
    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; and
    Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long 
Beach, CA 90802-4213; phone (562) 980-4001; fax (562) 980-4018.
    Written comments on this application should be submitted to the 
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, at the address listed above. 
Comments may also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 713-0376, or by 
email to [email protected]. Please include the File No. in the 
subject line of the email comment.
    Those individuals requesting a public hearing should submit a 
written request to the Chief, Permits and Conservation Division at the 
address listed above. The request should set forth the specific reasons 
why a hearing on this application would be appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joselyd Garcia-Reyes or Tammy Adams, 
(301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject amendment to Permit No. 15748 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. 15748, issued on May 25, 2011 (76 FR 31942), authorizes 
the permit holder to capture and harass free-living Weddell seals 
(Leptonychotes weddellii) in McMurdo Sound and along the shore of Ross 
Island, Antarctica to study thermoregulation. The research involves 
capture and restraint of adult females and pups/juveniles of either sex 
for attachment of scientific instruments, morphometric measurements, 
ultrasound, and tissue sampling. Harassment of additional seals in the 
vicinity of captured animals is also authorized, as is research-related 
mortality. Tissue samples collected may be exported from Antarctica for 
analysis in the U.S. The permit is valid through August 30, 2015.
    The permit holder is requesting the permit be amended to include 
changes to the terms and conditions of the permit related to numbers of 
animals taken and manner of taking to include: increasing takes for the 
deployment of instrumentation on weaned pups/juveniles from 20 over the 
life of the permit to 35 over the life of the permit; increasing the 
number of takes per animal of weaned pups/juveniles and adult females 
from 2 to 3; adding nasal, oral, and rectal swab collection (one of 
each per animal) in weaned pups/juveniles and adult females; adding the 
use of spray lidocaine or similar agent; adding stable isotope analysis 
to compare stable isotope values of Weddell seals in the Ross Sea in 
the early 1900s to today; and adding an influenza A analysis using the 
requested swab collection to understand the exposure of pathogens to 
Antarctic marine mammals.
    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: May 1, 2012.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-10966 Filed 5-4-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P