[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 15, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52880-52881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24642]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF100


Draft National Procedure for Permit Applications To Retain 
Releasable Rehabilitated Marine Mammals for Public Display

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

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has developed a 
draft national Procedural Directive clarifying the process for eligible 
permit applicants to obtain releasable marine mammals for public 
display purposes under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). 
Releasable marine mammals are those that were successfully 
rehabilitated by the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response 
Program's network of stranding centers and have been determined by the 
rehabilitation facility's attending veterinarian to be candidates for 
return to the wild. NMFS will no longer grant permits for the specific 
purpose of retaining releasable marine mammals for public display. 
Instead, applicants will now need to apply for a permit to take 
(collect) animals from the wild pursuant to the MMPA. Non-releasable 
animals, on the other hand, may still be obtained through NMFS' 
administrative procedures.

DATES: Comments must be received by December 15, 2017.

ADDRESSES: The draft Procedural Directive is available in electronic 
form via the Internet at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/publicdisplay_permit.htm. You may submit comments by including NOAA-
NMFS-2017-0096 by either of the following methods:
    Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0096, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
    Mail: Send comments to: Chief, Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle 
Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-
3226, Attn: Releasable Rehabilitated Marine Mammal Procedural 
Directive.
    Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments if they are sent by 
any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after 
the comment period ends. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov 
without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, 
address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise 
sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender is publicly 
accessible. NMFS will also accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in 
the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jaclyn Taylor, NMFS, Office of 
Protected Resources, 301-427-8402, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 104 of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 
seq.) allows permits to be issued to take or import marine mammals for 
public display purposes, and section 109 requires the release of 
rehabilitated marine mammals to their natural habitat whenever 
feasible. The MMPA regulations at 50 CFR 216.27(b)(4) allow the NMFS 
OPR Director to require the use of a rehabilitated marine mammal for 
public display (or research or enhancement) in lieu of a take from the 
wild.

[[Page 52881]]

    From 2005-2016, NMFS issued three permits authorizing the retention 
of releasable marine mammals (rehabilitated animals cleared for release 
back to the wild) for public display purposes under section 104 of the 
MMPA and NMFS' implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 216. A permit 
was required for placement of releasable stranded animals (as opposed 
to non-releasable animals, which NMFS places in accordance with an 
administrative process rather than a permit) because NMFS views 
retention of a releasable marine mammal as the functional equivalent of 
a take from the wild (i.e., the animal would have otherwise been 
released and would presumably have contributed to the wild population). 
These three permits were based upon NMFS' interpretation of the 
regulations at 50 CFR 216.27(b)(4), which state the NMFS OPR Director 
may require use of a rehabilitated marine mammal for public display 
purposes in lieu of animals taken from the wild. The three previous 
permit applicants were not required to request an actual ``take'' of 
animals from the wild, as the placement of a releasable animal was 
considered in lieu of such take.
    However, NMFS received numerous public comments on the three issued 
permits asserting that permits to retain releasable marine mammals are 
in direct contradiction to the purpose of Title IV and section 109(h) 
of the MMPA, which mandate the rescue and rehabilitation of stranded 
marine mammals with the goal of releasing the animals to the wild when 
feasible. Commenters specifically expressed concerns that the process 
for assessing the actual impact of a take from the wild was largely 
circumvented.
    After evaluation and reconsideration of this permit process and as 
a result of public comments on the three permits issued, NMFS has 
developed a new draft Procedural Directive to clarify its 
interpretation of MMPA regulations and procedures for authorizing 
releasable rehabilitated marine mammals to be retained for purposes of 
public display.
    In the Procedural Directive, NMFS is proposing to no longer issue 
permits for the specific purpose of obtaining releasable marine mammals 
from the National Stranding Network for public display. Instead, would-
be applicants must apply for a permit to take (collect) from the wild 
pursuant to the MMPA. In the event NMFS decides to grant such a permit, 
the NMFS OPR Director may then, at his or her discretion, require that 
a releasable rehabilitated marine mammal be substituted for capturing 
an animal from the wild, in accordance with 50 CFR 216.27.
    NMFS believes this approach is more consistent with the statutory 
provisions governing rehabilitation and release of stranded marine 
mammals (MMPA section 109(h) and MMPA Title IV), which are separate and 
distinct from the provisions governing issuance of permits for the take 
of animals from the wild for purposes of public display (MMPA section 
104).

    Dated: November 6, 2017.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-24642 Filed 11-14-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P