[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 138 (Thursday, July 18, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 42935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17173]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB161


Marine Mammals; File No. 16992

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 a permit has been issued to Paul 
Nachtigall, Ph.D., Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of 
Hawaii, P.O. Box 1106, Kailua, HI 96734 to conduct research on captive 
cetaceans.

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; and
    Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Room 1110, 
Honolulu, HI 96814-4700; phone (808)944-2200; fax (808)973-2941.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Sloan or Jennifer Skidmore, 
(301)427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 9, 2013, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (78 FR 21112) that a request for a permit to 
conduct research on captive cetaceans 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).
    Permit No. 16992 authorizes research on basic hearing and 
echolocation in three bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and one 
false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) maintained in captivity at 
the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology in Kaneohe, Hawaii. Researchers 
will conduct hearing measurements using suction cup sensors to monitor 
electrical signals in the brain in response to sound and echolocation 
clicks. Temporary threshold shift experiments will be conducted on one 
adult male bottlenose dolphin. The research is accomplished using 
trained behaviors in which the animals voluntarily participate and can 
leave the testing area at any time.
    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: July 12, 2013.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-17173 Filed 7-17-13; 8:45 am]
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