[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 78 (Thursday, April 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 22716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09438]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD694


Marine Mammals; File No. 18662

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 
Allyson Hindle, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Anesthesia, Massachusetts 
General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Thier 503, Boston, MA 02114 to 
receive, import, and export specimens of marine mammals for scientific 
research purposes.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
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: Rosa L. Gonz[aacute]lez or Amy Sloan, 
(301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 8, 2015, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (80 FR 1027) that a request for a permit to 
receive, import, and export specimens of marine mammals for scientific 
research purposes 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 the applicant to receive, import, and export 
specimen materials for comparative research on the physiology and other 
biological aspects of marine mammals. Unlimited samples from up to 200 
individual cetaceans and 200 individual pinnipeds (excluding walrus) 
are authorized to be received, imported, or exported annually on an 
opportunistic basis from other permitted sources (legal subsistence 
harvests and legal commercial fishing operations; stranded animals in 
foreign countries; captive animals; and other permitted research in the 
U.S. and abroad). Samples collected from stranded animals in the U.S. 
and received under separate authorization may be exported and re-
imported. No takes of live animals are permitted. The permit is valid 
through March 31, 2020.
    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 14, 2015.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-09438 Filed 4-22-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P