[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 145 (Friday, July 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 45764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16277]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC213]


Marine Mammals; File No. 26170

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Keith Ellenbogen, Blue Reef, 189 
Schermerhorn Street, 8E; Brooklyn, NY 11201, in due form for a permit 
to conduct commercial and educational photography on marine mammals.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before August 29, 2022.

ADDRESSES: These documents are available upon written request via email 
to [email protected].
    Written comments on this application should be submitted via email 
to [email protected]. Please include File No. 26170 in the 
subject line of the email comment.
    Those individuals requesting a public hearing should submit a 
written request via email to [email protected]. The request 
should set forth the specific reasons why a hearing on this application 
would be appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Courtney Smith, Ph.D., or Amy Hapeman, 
(301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is requested under the 
authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended 
(MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and the regulations governing the 
taking and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216).
    The applicant proposes to observe, film, and photograph cetaceans 
and seals within the U.S. northeast Atlantic waters of the U.S., from 
the Gulf of Maine (including Cape Cod Bay and Stellwagen Bank National 
Marine Sanctuary) through the New York Bight (Montauk, NY to Cape May, 
NJ), including the Hudson Canyon. Up to 405 humpback (Megaptera 
novaeangliae; West Indies Distinct Population Segment) and long-finned 
pilot (Globicephala melaena) whales; harbor porpoise (Phocoena 
phocoena); and Atlantic white-sided (Lagenorhyncus acutus), bottlenose 
(Tursiops truncatus), long-beaked common (Delphinus capensis), Risso's 
(Grampus griseus), short-beaked common (Delphinus delphis), and striped 
(Stenella coeruleoalba) dolphins; and up to 675 harbor (Phoca vitulina) 
and gray (Halichoerus grypus) seals may be harassed annually from close 
approaches by marine vessels, experienced swimmers/divers, and during 
ground surveys for photography and filming purposes. The permit is 
requested for five years.
    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 the application to the Marine 
Mammal Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors.

    Dated: July 26, 2022.
Julia M. Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-16277 Filed 7-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P