[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 227 (Friday, November 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 85267]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28283]



[[Page 85267]]

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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic 
Conservation Act of 1978

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic 
Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a 
notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated 
under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published 
regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670 
of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of 
permit applications received.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit written data, comments, 
or views with respect to this permit application by December 27, 2016. 
This application may be inspected by interested parties at the Permit 
Office, address below.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Permit Office, Room 755, 
Division of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson 
Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nature McGinn, ACA Permit Officer, at 
the above address or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Science Foundation, as directed 
by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-541), as 
amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, 
has developed regulations for the establishment of a permit system for 
various activities in Antarctica and designation of certain animals and 
certain geographic areas a requiring special protection. The 
regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic 
Specially Protected Areas.
    Application Details:

Permit Application: 2017-029

1. Applicant
    John Durban, Ph.D., Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, NOAA NMFS 
Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 8901 La Jolla Shores Dr. La Jolla, 
CA 92037.

Activity for Which Permit Is Requested

    Take; Import into USA. The applicant's study of the health of 
whales, as a means to assess the health of Antarctic marine ecosystems, 
calls for the use of aerial photogrammetry to collect data on whale 
morphometrics and condition. The applicant proposes to use unmanned 
aircraft systems (UAS), particularly small, radio-controlled 
hexacopters, for aerial photogrammetry, and to use handheld cameras for 
photo-identification. The hexacopters will be flown greater than 100 ft 
above the whales for identification and assessment purposes. The 
applicant also proposes to sample the exhaled blow (breath) of commonly 
encountered larger whales by briefly descending the hexacopter to as 
low as 6 ft above the whale and flying through the blow plume. The 
breath samples will be analyzed for microorganisms as an indicator of 
the whales' respiratory health. In previous studies, the applicant has 
noted no behavioral disturbances from the overflight of whales by 
hexacopters for photo- or breath-sampling. In addition to the 
photogrammetry and sampling via UAS, the study entails collecting 
tissue samples the size of a pencil eraser to be used for genetic 
investigations, for stable isotope analyses to describe diet and 
nutritional status, and for a comparison of the skin microbiome to 
respiratory samples. The tissue samples will also be used for steroid 
hormone analysis to infer pregnancy, as well as physiological and 
nutritional stress. The applicant's study includes the following whale 
species (both sexes) and number of takes per annum: Killer whales 
(photogrammetry, n = 5000; biopsy, n = 475); humpback whales 
(photogrammetry, n = 2000; breath sample, n = 100; biopsy, n = 235); 
Antarctic minke whales (photogrammetry, n = 1000; breath sample, n = 
500; biopsy, n = 170); common minke whales (photogrammetry, n = 1000; 
breath sample, n = 500; biopsy, n = 170); Arnoux's beaked whales 
(photogrammetry, n = 500; biopsy, n = 55); southern bottlenose whales 
(photogrammetry, n = 200; biopsy, n = 85); and sperm whales 
(photogrammetry, n = 2000; biopsy, n = 90). Additionally, samples of 
dead marine mammals encountered by the applicant may be salvaged for 
chemical analysis or genetic determination of species (whales, n = 500 
per annum; seals, n = 500). All samples will be imported into the USA 
for analysis and ultimate disposition at the Southwest Fisheries 
Science Center.

Location

    Antarctic Peninsula region; southern Ross Sea;

Dates

    January 1, 2017-May 31, 2021.

Nadene G. Kennedy,
Polar Coordination Specialist, Division of Polar Programs.
[FR Doc. 2016-28283 Filed 11-23-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7555-01-P