[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 71 (Monday, April 14, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 20865]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-08349]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD036


Marine Mammals; File No. 16591

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 
Darlene Ketten, Ph.D., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods 
Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543, to collect, import, export, and 
receive marine mammal parts for scientific research.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment in the following office: 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.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 17, 2014, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (79 FR 3180) that a request for a permit to 
conduct research on marine mammals parts 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.), the regulations 
governing the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and 
threatened species (50 CFR parts 222-226), and the Fur Seal Act of 
1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.).
    The permit authorizes Dr. Ketten to annually collect, receive, 
import and export biological samples from 20 individual cetaceans and 
20 individual pinnipeds of each species under NMFS jurisdiction. The 
purpose of the research is to study marine mammal hearing including 
calculating hearing frequency distributions, determining how marine 
mammal ears withstand pressure changes, and understanding how 
underwater noise affects marine mammal hearing. No takes of live 
animals, direct or indirect, are authorized by the permit. The permit 
expires on February 28, 2019.
    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.
    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: April 8, 2014.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-08349 Filed 4-11-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P