[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33443-33444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13734]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA861


Marine Mammals; File No. 16473

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit.

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[[Page 33444]]

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a permit has been issued to D. Ann 
Pabst, Ph.D., University of North Carolina Wilmington, to conduct 
research on marine mammals.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
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; 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.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 9, 2011, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (76 FR 76950) that a request for a permit to 
conduct research on humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae), fin 
(Balaenoptera physalus), sperm (Physeter macrocephalus), North Atlantic 
right (Eubalaena glacialis), sei (B. borealis), minke (B. 
acutorostrata), dwarf and pygmy sperm (Kogia spp.), unidentified 
beaked, killer (Orcinus orca), pilot (Globicephala spp.), false killer 
(Pseudorca crassidens), pygmy killer (Feresa attenuata), and melon-
headed (Peponocephala electra) whales, bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus), 
Atlantic spotted (Stenella frontalis), Risso's (Grampus griseus), 
Fraser's (Lagenodelphis hosei), rough-toothed (Steno bredanensis), 
pantropical spotted (S. attenuata), striped (S. coeruleoalba), clymene 
(S. clymene), spinner (S. longirostris), and short-beaked common 
dolphins (Delphinus delphis), and harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) 
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.), the regulations governing 
the taking and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216), the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.), and the regulations governing the taking, importing, and 
exporting of endangered and threatened species (50 CFR parts 222-226).
    The permit authorizes takes of the species listed above during 
aerial and vessel surveys to conduct counts, photo-identification, and 
behavioral observations and is valid for five years from the date of 
issuance.
    An environmental assessment (EA) was prepared analyzing the effects 
of the permitted activities on the human environment in compliance with 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 
Based on the analyses in the EA, NMFS determined that issuance of the 
permit would not significantly impact the quality of the human 
environment and that preparation of an environmental impact statement 
was not required. That determination is documented in a Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI), signed on May 30, 2012.
    As required by the ESA, issuance of this permit was based on a 
finding that such permit: (1) Was applied for in good faith; (2) will 
not operate to the disadvantage of such endangered species; and (3) is 
consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the 
ESA.

     Dated: June 1, 2012.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-13734 Filed 6-5-12; 8:45 am]
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