[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34887-34888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11448]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-2023-0022; FXIA16710900000-234-FF09A30000]


Marine Mammal Protection Act; Receipt of Permit Application

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of permit application; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), invite the 
public to comment on an application to conduct certain activities with 
marine mammals for which the Service has jurisdiction under the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). With some exceptions, the MMPA prohibits 
activities with marine mammals unless Federal authorization is issued 
that allows such activities. The MMPA also

[[Page 34888]]

requires that we invite public comment before issuing permits for any 
activity that is otherwise prohibited with respect to any marine 
mammal.

DATES: We must receive comments by June 30, 2023.

ADDRESSES: 
    Obtaining Documents: The application, application supporting 
materials, and any comments and other materials that we receive will be 
available for public inspection at https://www.regulations.gov in 
Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-2023-0022.
    Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the 
following methods:
     Internet: https://www.regulations.gov. Search for and 
submit comments on Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-2023-0022.
     U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. 
FWS-HQ-IA-2023-0022; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: 
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
    For more information, see Public Comment Procedures under 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brenda Tapia, by phone at 703-358-2185 
or via email at [email protected]. Individuals in the United States who are 
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 
711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay 
services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay 
services offered within their country to make international calls to 
the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Comment Procedures

A. How do I comment on submitted applications?

    We invite the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies 
to comment on this application. Before issuing any requested permit, we 
will take into consideration any information that we receive during the 
public comment period.
    You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods in 
ADDRESSES. We will not consider comments sent by email, or to an 
address not in ADDRESSES. We will not consider or include in our 
administrative record comments we receive after the close of the 
comment period (see DATES).
    When submitting comments, please specify the name of the applicant 
and the permit number at the beginning of your comment. Provide 
sufficient information to allow us to authenticate any scientific or 
commercial data you include. The comments and recommendations that will 
be most useful and likely to influence agency decisions are: (1) Those 
supported by quantitative information or studies; and (2) those that 
include citations to, and analyses of, the applicable laws and 
regulations.

B. May I review comments submitted by others?

    You may view and comment on others' public comments at https://www.regulations.gov unless our allowing so would violate the Privacy 
Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) or Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).

C. Who will see my comments?

    If you submit a comment at https://www.regulations.gov, your entire 
comment, including any personal identifying information, will be posted 
on the website. If you submit a hardcopy comment that includes personal 
identifying information, such as your address, phone number, or email 
address, you may request at the top of your document that we withhold 
this information from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that 
we will be able to do so. Moreover, all submissions from organizations 
or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be 
made available for public disclosure in their entirety.

II. Background

    To help us carry out our conservation responsibilities for affected 
species, and in consideration of section 104(c) of the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act of 1972, as amended (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), we 
invite public comments on permit applications before final action is 
taken. With some exceptions, the MMPA prohibits certain activities with 
marine mammals unless Federal authorization is issued that allows such 
activities. Service regulations regarding permits for any activity 
otherwise prohibited by the MMPA with respect to any foreign or native 
marine mammal species are available in title 50 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations in part 18.
    Concurrent with publishing this notice in the Federal Register, we 
are forwarding copies of this marine mammal application to the Marine 
Mammal Commission and the Committee of Scientific Advisors for their 
review.

III. Permit Application

    We invite comments on the following application.
Applicant: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Marine Mammals 
Management Office, Anchorage, AK; Permit No. 041309
    The applicant requests a renewal and amendment of their permit to 
capture, re-capture, release, collect carcasses of, import or export 
parts of, hold, anesthetize, flipper tag, PIT tag, collect samples of, 
transport, use radio transmitter for location of, use time-depth 
recorders for study of, use LX2 and TDR transmitters for study of, 
conduct benthic surveys of using CTD and underwater cameras, deploy 
passive acoustic monitors for study of, and conduct ensonification 
studies of up to 200 northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) 
annually, for the purpose of scientific research. This notification 
covers activities to be conducted by the applicant over a 5-year 
period.

IV. Next Steps

    After the comment period closes, we will make decisions regarding 
permit issuance. If we issue permits to any of the applicants listed in 
this notice, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register. You may 
locate the notice announcing the permit issuance by searching https://www.regulations.gov for the permit number listed above in this 
document. For example, to find information about the potential issuance 
of Permit No. 12345A, you would go to https://www.regulations.gov and 
search for ``12345A''.

V. Authority

    We issue this notice under the authority of the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and its 
implementing regulations.

Brenda Tapia,
Supervisory Program Analyst/Data Administrator, Branch of Permits, 
Division of Management Authority.
[FR Doc. 2023-11448 Filed 5-30-23; 8:45 am]
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