[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 80 (Monday, April 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 23258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09723]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XZ51


Marine Mammals; File No. 15543

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit amendment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a major amendment to Permit No. 
15543-03 has been issued to Randall S. Wells, Ph.D. (Principal 
Investigator), Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, c/o Mote Marine 
Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236.

ADDRESSES: The permit amendment 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: Courtney Smith or Brendan Hurley, 
(301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 9, 2015, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (80 FR 1398) that a request for an amendment 
Permit No. 15543-03 to conduct research on bottlenose (Tursiops 
truncatus) and Atlantic spotted (Stenella frontalis) dolphins for 
scientific research had been submitted by the above-named applicant. 
The requested permit amendment 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 amended permit expands the study area to include the bay, 
sound, estuary and associated coastal waters of Mobile Bay, AL, and 
Terrebonne Bay, LA, and added annual takes in each location by remote 
biopsy sampling of bottlenose dolphins. Annual biopsy takes were also 
added to the currently authorized allotment of Florida biopsy 
activities to include a focused study in Pensacola Bay, FL. The 
amendment also authorizes the capture, satellite-tagging, and release 
of Atlantic spotted dolphins for health assessments by hoop-netting 
bow-riding individuals during surveys on the West Florida Shelf. Up to 
two takes by unintentional mortality are authorized annually. Finally, 
the amended permit authorizes a minor procedural modification to allow 
the administration of doubly-labeled water (deuterium oxide and oxygen-
18) to bottlenose dolphins that are temporarily captured during 
currently permitted health assessments.
    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: April 10, 2015.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-09723 Filed 4-24-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P