[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 138 (Friday, July 18, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41990-41991]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-16889]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC033


Marine Mammals; File No. 17157

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 Stephen John Trumble, Ph.D., 
Baylor University, 101 Bagby Ave, Waco, TX 76706, has applied for an 
amendment to Scientific Research Permit No. 17157.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before August 18, 2014.

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. 1715 from 
the list of available applications.
    These documents are also available upon written request or by 
appointment in the Permits and Conservation Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room

[[Page 41991]]

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301) 427-8401; fax (301) 713-
0376.
    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. 17157 
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: Jennifer Skidmore or Amy Sloan, (301) 
427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject amendment to Permit No. 17157 is 
requested 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 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 
and the regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of 
endangered and threatened species (50 CFR 222-226).
    Permit No. 17157, issued on July 18, 2012 (77 FR 45592), authorizes 
the receipt, import and export of up to 25 earplugs each of blue whale 
(Balaenoptera musculus), sei whale (B. borealis), minke whale (B. 
acutorostrata), humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae), and gray whales 
(Eschrichtius robustus) annually from museums worldwide for analysis. 
The permit holder is requesting the permit be amended to include 25 
earplugs annually from bowhead (Balaena mysticetus), fin whale (B. 
physalus) and sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus; P. catadon) from 
natural history museums as well as from collections in Barrow, Alaska 
of bowhead whale subsistence harvests. No takes of live animals are or 
would be authorized. The permit expires on July 17, 2017.
    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: July 14, 2014.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-16889 Filed 7-17-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P