[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 235 (Tuesday, December 8, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76278-76279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30843]


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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. 17157-01.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before January 7, 2016.

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. 17157 
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 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. 17157-01 
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 parts 222-226).
    Permit No. 17157, issued on July 18, 2012, and amended on November 
7, 2014, authorizes the receipt, import and export of up to 25 earplugs 
annually of each of the following species of whale: Blue (Balaenoptera 
musculus), sei (B. borealis), minke (B. acutorostrata), humpback 
(Megaptera novaeangliae), gray (Eschrichtius robustus), bowhead 
(Balaena mysticetus), fin (B. physalus), and sperm (Physeter 
macrocephalus). The samples may be obtained from natural history 
museums as well as from collections in Barrow, AK, of bowhead whale 
subsistence harvests.

[[Page 76279]]

    The applicant is requesting an amendment to the permit to increase 
the number of animals that samples could be received, imported, and 
exported from 25 to 100 individuals annually. In addition, the 
applicant is requesting authorization to receive, import, and export 
baleen samples from blue and fin whales. 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: December 2, 2015.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-30843 Filed 12-7-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P