[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 121 (Tuesday, June 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35728-35729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14626]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC521


Marine Mammals; File No. 16632

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 the 
NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Hawaiian Monk 
Seal Research Program, 1845 Wasp Boulevard, Building 176, Honolulu, HI 
96818 (Responsible Party: Frank Parish, Ph.D.), to conduct research and 
enhancement on Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi).

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review on 
the following Web site: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/monkseal16632.htm; or, upon written request or by appointment in the 
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 Courtney Smith, (301)427-
8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 1, 2013, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (78 FR 13863) that a

[[Page 35729]]

request for a permit to conduct research and enhancement on Hawaiian 
monk seals 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).
    Permit No. 16632-00 authorizes the PIFSC to carry out research and 
enhancement activities designed to conserve and recover the endangered 
Hawaiian monk seal. Activities may occur on beaches and in nearshore 
waters throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago (Northwestern Hawaiian 
Islands [NWHI] and main Hawaiian Islands [MHI]) and Johnston Atoll, and 
in facilities housing captive monk seals. Research activities include 
visual and photographic monitoring, tagging, pelage bleach marking, 
health screening, foraging studies, deworming research, experimental 
translocation, necropsies, tissue sampling, import/export of parts, 
behavioral modification research, and vaccination research. Enhancement 
activities include translocations (excluding two-stage translocations 
involving moving young seals from the NWHI and releasing them in the 
MHI), hazing and removal of aggressive adult male seals that harm or 
kill other seals, disentangling, dehooking, deworming, treating injured 
seals in-situ, behavioral modification, vaccination, and supplemental 
feeding of post-release rehabilitated seals. Incidental harassment of 
monk seals, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and spinner 
dolphins (Stenella longistrostris) is authorized. Research studies may 
also be conducted on seals in captivity. The permit expires on June 30, 
2019.
    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), NMFS has determined that the activities 
proposed in Permit No. 16632-00 are consistent with the Preferred 
Alternative (Alternative 3: Limited Translocation) in the Final 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Hawaiian monk seal 
Recovery Actions (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/eis/hawaiianmonksealeis.htm), and that issuance of the permit would not 
have a significant adverse impact on the human environment.
    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 18, 2014.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-14626 Filed 6-23-14; 8:45 am]
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