Document Headings

                    Document headings vary by document type but may contain                    the following:                  
                -                       the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document                    
                -                       the number of the CFR title and the number of each part                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly                      related to                    
                -                       the agency docket number / agency internal file number                    
                -                       the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in                      the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory                      Actions                    

                    See the                                          Document Drafting Handbook                                        for more details.                  

###### Department of Commerce

###### National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

          - [I.D. 051000A] 

# AGENCY:

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

# ACTION:

Scientific research permit amendment.

# SUMMARY:

Notice is hereby given that a request for amendment of scientific research no. 1004 submitted by the Whale Conservation Institute/Ocean Alliance, 191 Weston Road, Lincoln, MA 01773, has been granted. 

# ADDRESSES:

The amendment and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment, in the following offices: 

Permits Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-2289); and 

Director, Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298 (508/281-9250). 

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ruth Johnson, 301/713-2289. 

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

                    February 11, 2000, notice was published in the                     **Federal Register**                     (65 FR 6997) that an amendment of permit no. 1004, issued June 21, 1996 (61 FR 33906) had been requested by the above-named organization. The requested amendment has been granted under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361*et**seq*.), the Regulations Governing the Taking and Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended (ESA, 16 U.S.C. 1531*et**seq*.), and the regulations governing endangered and threatened species (50 CFR parts 222-226).                 

                    Permit No. 1004 has been amended to: (1) extend the expiration date of the permit to December 31, 2000; (2) increase the number of imported tissue samples from all species, except southern right whale (                    *Eubalaena**australis*); and (3) increase locations from which samples may be imported.                 

Issuance of this amendment as required by the ESA of 1973 was based on a finding that the permit: (1) was applied for in good faith; (2) will not operate to the disadvantage of the endangered species which is the subject of this permit; and (3) is consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in Section 2 of the ESA. 

Dated: June 5, 2000. 

Ann D. Terbush, 

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 00-14674 Filed 6-8-00; 8:45 am] 

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