[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 135 (Wednesday, July 15, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 41485]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17349]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XR52


Marine Mammals; File No. 14534

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 NOAA's Office of Science and 
Technology, Silver Spring, MD, (Brandon Southall, Ph.D.--Principal 
Investigator) has been issued a minor amendment to Scientific Research 
Permit No. 14534-02.

ADDRESSES: The 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 Howard Goldstein, 
(301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The requested amendment has been granted 
under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and 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 
through 226).
    The original permit (No. 14534), issued on July 2, 2010 (75 FR 
39665) through June 30, 2015 authorized research on a variety of marine 
mammals, and involves temporarily attaching individual recording tags 
to measure vocalization, diving and other behaviors, and physiological 
parameters before, during, and after carefully controlled exposures of 
sound in conventional playback experiments. The research is focused in 
the waters within the U.S. Navy's Southern California Range Complex, 
and primarily near the vicinity of San Clemente Island. A minor 
amendment to the permit (No. 14534-01) was issued on August 30, 2010 to 
combine long-beaked common dolphins and short-beaked common dolphins 
into a single ``unidentified common dolphin'' category for takes by 
harassment incidental to the playbacks.
    A second, major amendment (No. 14534-02) was issued on May 14, 2012 
(77 FR 33199) that added endangered humpback whales (Megaptera 
novaengliae) as an additional focal species for tagging and intentional 
exposure to sound playbacks with associated behavioral observations. 
The amendment also increased the number of non-ESA listed minke whales 
(Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and killer whales (Orcinus orca) that may 
be harassed annually.
    The current minor amendment (No. 14534-03) extends the duration of 
the permit through June 30, 2016, but does not change any other terms 
or conditions of the permit.

    Dated: July 9, 2015.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-17349 Filed 7-14-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P