[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 210 (Tuesday, October 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54571-54572]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23653]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG558


Marine Mammals; Issuance of Permits

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permits.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that individuals and institutions have 
been issued Letters of Confirmation for activities conducted under the 
General Authorization for Scientific Research on marine mammals. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for a list of names and address of 
recipients.

ADDRESSES: The Letters of Confirmation and related documents are 
available for review upon written request or by appointment in the 
following office:
    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: Office of Protected Resources, Permits 
and Conservation Division, (301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The requested Letters of Confirmation have 
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 General Authorization allows for bona fide scientific research that 
may result only in taking by Level B harassment of marine mammals. The 
following Letters of Confirmation (LOC) were issued in Fiscal Year 2018 
(October 1, 2017--September 30, 2018).
    File No. 19826-01: Issued to Tara Moll, Naval Undersea Warfare 
Center, Division Newport, 1176 Howell Street, Newport, RI, 02841 on 
November 6, 2017, to conduct ground and vessel surveys, photo-
identification, and behavioral observations of gray (Halichoerus 
grypus), harbor (Phoca vitulina), and harp (Pagophilus groenlandicus) 
seals in lower Chesapeake Bay, VA and Narragansett Bay, RI. The amended 
LOC expands the location of research activities in Virginia to include 
the eastern Atlantic shore of Virginia, rather than just coastlines 
within the Chesapeake Bay. The LOC expires on January 31, 2021.
    File No. 21363: Issued to David Johnston, Ph.D., Assistant 
Professor of the Practice, Duke University, Marine Science and 
Conservation, 135 Duke Marine Lab Rd., Beaufort, NC, 28516 on November 
9, 2017, to use unmanned aircraft systems to count and photograph 11 
pinniped species. Images will be used for photogrammetry, health 
assessments and habitat descriptions. Research may occur in three 
different areas: (1) Along the U.S. east coast from Maine to South 
Carolina; (2) along the U.S. West Coast from Alaska to

[[Page 54572]]

California; and (3) along the Western Antarctic Peninsula. The 
objectives are to determine the density and distribution of non-listed 
pinnipeds using risk adverse and low impact technology. The LOC expires 
on November 15, 2022.
    File No. 19826-02: Issued to Deanna Rees, Naval Undersea Warfare 
Center, Division Newport, 1176 Howell Street, Newport, RI 02841 on 
November 28, 2017, to conduct ground and vessel surveys, photo-
identification, and behavioral observations of gray, harbor, and harp 
seals in Virginia and Narragansett Bay, RI. The amended LOC changes the 
Principal Investigator. The objectives do not change from those 
authorized under LOC No. 19826-01. The LOC expires on January 31, 2021.
    File No. 19613: Issued to Eric Zolman, NOAA National Ocean Service, 
Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Ft. Johnson, Charleston, SC, 29412-9110 
on December 21, 2017, to conduct research on bottlenose dolphins 
(Tursiops truncatus) within coastal waters of the southeastern United 
States (including the western North Atlantic and northern Gulf of 
Mexico). Dolphins may be closely approached during vessel surveys for 
the purposes of photo-identification and behavioral observations to 
address the following objectives: (1) To estimate abundance of specific 
inshore bottlenose dolphin stocks; (2) to better define stock 
boundaries in targeted regions; and (3) to assess the status and health 
of targeted dolphin populations. The LOC expires on January 1, 2023.
    File No. 18101-03: Issued to Jens Currie, Pacific Whale Foundation, 
300 Ma'alaea Rd., Suite 211, Wailuku, HI 96793 on March 23, 2018. The 
amended Letter of Confirmation changes the Principal Investigator and 
applicant, and extends the LOC by one year for vessel-based research 
activities on cetaceans within the Maui-4 islands area. The objectives 
do not change from those authorized under LOC No. 18101-02. The LOC 
expires on June 21, 2019.
    File No. 21932: Issued to Jessica Taylor, Outer Banks Center for 
Dolphin Research, 310 West Eden St., Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948 on 
April 4, 2018, to conduct vessel surveys of bottlenose dolphins in the 
waters of northern North Carolina. Animals may be approached for photo-
identification, behavioral observations, and focal follows. The 
objective of the research is to continue to monitor the presence, 
identity, ecology, and behavior of bottlenose dolphins in the area. The 
LOC expires on April 30, 2023.
    File No. 21889: Issued to Lesley Thorne, Ph.D., School of Marine 
and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 
11794 on April 23, 2018, to conduct vessel and unmanned aircraft system 
(UAS) surveys of 18 cetacean species. Animals may be approached for 
photo-identification, photogrammetry, behavioral observations, and 
abundance estimates. Research may occur in the New York Bight up to 120 
nm offshore. The objective of the research is to provide detailed 
species-level information on the abundance, distribution, movements and 
body condition of cetaceans within the study area to the New York State 
Department of Environmental Conservation as part of an offshore 
monitoring program. The LOC expires on July 30, 2023.
    File No. 21556: Issued to Stephen McCulloch, Dolphins Plus, 31 
Corrine Place, Key Largo, FL 33037 on May 14, 2018 to conduct vessel 
surveys targeting bottlenose dolphins to include close approach for 
counts, photo-identification, video recording, and behavioral 
observations in the Upper Florida Keys, between North Key Largo to 
Islamorada, FL. The objectives of the research are to provide a 
contemporary account of common bottlenose dolphins utilizing the Upper 
Florida Keys. The LOC expires on May 15, 2023.
    File No. 22198: Issued to Samuel Wasser, Ph.D., Center for 
Conservation Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 on 
May 22, 2018, to conduct boat-based vessel surveys targeting killer 
whales (Orcinus orca, West Coast Transient stock) within the inland 
waters of Washington State. Whales may be approached during focal 
follows for photo-identification, behavioral observations, and fecal 
sample collection. The objective of the research is to, through 
analysis of feces, address the physiologic measures of nutritional 
stress with variation in prey abundance, toxicant levels and boat 
traffic to endpoint measures such as successful birth outcomes and 
annual mortality. The LOC expires on July 15, 2019.
    File No. 20519-01: Issued to Peggy Stap, Marine Life Studies, P.O. 
Box 884, Monterey, CA 93942-0884 on June 27, 2018. The amended LOC 
allows for the use of small UAS to determine the number of marine 
mammals in a group and for photogrammetry of Transient and Offshore 
killer whales. The objectives do not change from those authorized under 
LOC 20519. The LOC expires on December 31, 2021.
    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 
activities are categorically excluded from the requirement to prepare 
an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.

    Dated: October 24, 2018.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-23653 Filed 10-29-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P