[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 172 (Friday, September 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 53499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21961]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD560


Marine Mammals; File No. 18208

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 Randy 
Sacco, Ph.D., Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research Unit, National 
Animal Disease Center, 1920 Dayton Road, P.O. Box 70, Ames, IA 50010, 
to receive cell line specimens of Atlantic spotted (Stenella 
frontalis), Atlantic bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus), and common 
(Delphinus delphis) dolphin 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: Amy Sloan or Jennifer Skidmore, (301) 
427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 28, 2014, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (70 FR 64174) that a request for a permit to 
receive cell line specimens from the species identified above 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.), and the regulations governing the taking and importing of marine 
mammals (50 CFR part 216).
    The permit authorizes the applicant to receive cell lines from up 
to two Atlantic spotted, three Atlantic bottlenose, and three common 
dolphins to study mechanisms whereby respiratory pathogens alter 
dolphin anti-viral or cytokine/chemokine responses using a 
parainfluenza virus isolated from a bottlenose dolphin. The objective 
is to provide information on how influenza viruses affect dolphins and 
potentially induce disease. Cell lines will be obtained from the 
American Type Culture Collection or other permitted researchers 
authorized to maintain cell lines, and would be analyzed at the 
National Animal Disease Center in Ames, IA. The permit is valid for 5 
years from the date of issuance.
    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: August 24, 2015.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-21961 Filed 9-3-15; 8:45 am]
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