Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 20, 2007 / Notices 13089 

Dated: March 13, 2007. 

Gary Taverman, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretaryfor Import 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. E7–5040 Filed 3–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Minority Business Development 

Agency 

White House Initiative on Asian 

Americans and Pacific Islanders, 

President’s Advisory Commission on 

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders 

AGENCY: Minority Business 

Development Agency, Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public teleconference 

meeting. 

SUMMARY: The President’s Advisory 

Commission on Asian Americans and 

Pacific Islanders (Commission) will 

convene a teleconference meeting on 

April 5, 2007 to deliberate the draft 

Commission report to the President. 

This meeting is open to the public and 

interested persons may listen to the 

teleconference by using the call-in 

number and pass code provided below 

(see ADDRESSES). 

DATES: Thursday, April 5, 2007, 

beginning at 1:15 p.m. (EST). 

ADDRESSES: By telephone: Beginning at 

1 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, April 5, 

2007, members of the public may call 1–

800–619–6733 and dial pass code 

4656049 to access the teleconference. 

Advance registration is not required. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information regarding the Commission, 

please contact Ms. Cianna Ferrer, 

Executive Assistant, Office of the White 

House Initiative on Asian Americans 

and Pacific Islanders, Minority Business 

Development Agency, U.S. Department 

of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 

Avenue, NW., Room 5612, Washington 

DC 20230; telephone (202) 482–3949; 

facsimile (202) 482–501–6239; e-mail: 

info@aapi.gov. Note that any 

correspondence sent by regular mail 

may be substantially delayed or 

suspended in delivery, since all regular 

mail sent to the Department of 

Commerce is subject to extensive 

security screening. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with Section 10(a)(2) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended (5 U.S.C. App. 2), public 

announcement is made of the 

Commission’s intent to convene a 

teleconference meeting on April 5, 2007. 

This meeting is open to the public and 

interested persons may listen to the 

teleconference by using the call-in 

number and pass code set forth above 

(see ADDRESSES). Advance registration is 

not required to access the 

teleconference. 

Prospective agenda items for the 

meeting include a deliberation of the 

draft Commission report to the 

President, administrative tasks and such 

other Commission business as may arise 

during the course of the meeting. In 

addition, the Commission welcomes 

interested persons to submit written 

comments to the Office of the White 

House Initiative on Asian Americans 

and Pacific Islanders (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT) at any time before 

or after the meeting. To facilitate 

distribution of written comments to 

Commission members prior to the 

meeting, the Commission suggests that 

comments be submitted by facsimile or 

by e-mail no later than April 2, 2007. 

The Commission will not be receiving 

public comment during the meeting. 

Dated: March 15, 2007. 

Ronald Marin, 

Financial Management Officer, Minority 

Business Development Agency. 

[FR Doc. E7–5054 Filed 3–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–21–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 022007E] 

Antarctic Marine Living Resources 

Convention Act of 1984; Conservation 

and Management Measures 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notice to 

notify the public that the United States 

has accepted conservation and 

management measures and resolutions 

pertaining to fishing in Antarctic waters 

managed by the Commission for the 

Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living 

Resources (Commission or CCAMLR). 

The Commission adopted these 

measures at its twenty-fifth meeting in 

Hobart, Tasmania, October 23 to 

November 3, 2006. The measures have 

been agreed upon by the Member 

countries of CCAMLR, including the 

United States, in accordance with 

Article IX of the Convention for the 

Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living 

Resources (the Convention). The 

measures: include measures previously 

adopted by the Commission and 

remaining in force; measures adopted 

for the 2006/2007 fishing season to 

restrict overall catches, research catch 

and bycatch of certain species of fish, 

krill and crab; limit participation in 

several exploratory fisheries; restrict 

fishing in certain areas and to certain 

gear types; and set forth: fishing seasons 

fishery-by-fishery, revisions to 

previously adopted measures; new 

measures, and new resolutions. The 

Commission also adopted a list of 

vessels suspected to be engaged in 

illegal, unregulated or unreported 

fishing in the Convention Area. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the CCAMLR 

conservation and management measures 

may be obtained from the Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 

East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robin Tuttle, 301–713–2282. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The full text of the conservation and 

management measures and resolutions 

agreed to by consensus by CCAMLR at 

its 2006 meeting were published by the 

U.S. Department of State in a formal 

notice in the Federal Register on 

January 29, 2007 (72 FR 4068). 

Public comments were invited on the 

notice; one comment was received. The 

commenter suggested that the use of 

gillnets and longlines be banned in the 

Convention Area. As indicated in the 

Department of State notice, CCAMLR 

has adopted an interim prohibition on 

the use of deep-sea gillnets. The 

prohibition will remain in force until 

the CCAMLR Scientific Committee has 

investigated and reported on the 

potential impacts of gillnets in the 

Convention Area. Regarding longline 

fishing, CCAMLR first adopted 

measures requiring fishers to employ 

techniques minimizing the incidental 

mortality of seabirds in the course of 

longline fishing in 1991. At its 2006 

meeting, CCAMLR’s Ad Hoc Working 

Group on Incidental Mortality 

Associated with Fishing noted the 

resulting continuing low levels of 

incidental mortality of seabirds in 

regulated longline fisheries in most 

parts of the Convention Area. There 

were no reports of incidental mortality 

of marine mammals in longline gear in 

the 2005/2006 fishing season. 

Through this action, NMFS notifies 

the public that the United States has 

accepted the measures and resolutions 

adopted at CCAMLR’s twenty-fifth 

meeting. NMFS provides the following 


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13090 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 20, 2007 / Notices 

summary of these measures and 

resolutions as a courtesy. 

Prohibitions on Directed Fishing 

The Commission retained the 

continuing prohibitions for directed 

fishing for finfish in Statistical Subareas 

48.1 and 48.2; for Notothenia rossii in 

Statistical Subareas 48.1, 48.2 and 48.3; 

for Gobionotothen gibberifrons, 

Chaenocephalus aceratus, 

Pseudochaenicthys georgianus, 

Lepidonotothen squamifrons and 

Patagonotothen guntheri in Statistical 

Subareas 48.3; for Lepidonotothen 

squamifrons in Statistical Division 

58.4.4; for Dissostichus species in 

Statistical Division 58.4.4 outside areas 

of national jurisdiction; for Dissostichus 

eleginoides in Statistical Subarea 58.6; 

for Dissostichus eleginoides in 

Statistical Subarea 58.7; for Dissostichus 

eleginoides in Statistical Division 58.5.1 

outside areas of national jurisdiction; for 

Dissostichus eleginoides in Statistical 

Division 58.5.2 east of 79°20′E and 

outside of the EEZ to the west of 

79°20′E; for Dissostichus species in 

Statistical Subarea 88.2 north of 65° S; 

for Dissostichus species in Statistical 

Subarea 88.3; and for Electrona 

carlsbergi in Statistical Subarea 48.3. 

The Commission prohibited directed 

fishing for Dissostichus species in 

Subarea 48.5 during the 2006/2007 

fishing season. 

The Commission adopted a new 

measure that prohibits directed fishing 

on shark species in the Convention 

Area, other than for research purposes. 

Shark fishing will be prohibited at least 

until the status of shark populations and 

the effects of fishing are assessed. 

Bycatch 

The Commission agreed to extend the 

existing bycatch limits in Division 

58.5.2 into the 2006/2007 season. The 

Commission also agreed to extend the 

existing bycatch limits and move-on 

rules for exploratory fisheries into the 

2006/2007 season, taking account of the 

revised catch limit for Dissostichus 

species in Subareas 88.1 and 88.2 and 

the consequential change to the bycatch 

limits in those subareas. 

The Commission adopted a measure 

requiring that bycatch of sharks, 

especially juveniles and gravid females, 

taken accidentally in other fisheries 

will, as far as possible, be released alive. 

The Commission revised its 

resolution promoting international 

actions to reduce the incidental 

mortality of seabirds to further address 

fishing outside the CCAMLR 

Convention Area. The Commission 

requested that Contracting Parties 

engage with other Regional Fisheries 

Management Organizations (RFMO), 

strengthen input into RFMO meetings 

by including seabird experts on 

delegations and become involved in the 

development and implementation of 

seabird resolutions and other measures 

to reduce bycatch of albatrosses and 

petrels within RFMO jurisdictions. Such 

resolutions and measures might include 

mitigation measures, sharing 

information, exchanging observercollected data on seabird mortalities, 

establishing of bycatch working groups, 

and evaluating fishery impacts on 

seabird populations. The Commission 

urged Contracting Parties to implement 

measures to reduce or eliminate seabird 

incidental mortality in fisheries outside 

the CCAMLR Convention Area; require 

their flagged vessels fishing in these 

areas to collect and report rates of 

incidental mortality of seabirds 

associated with each fishery, details of 

the seabird species involved, and 

estimate of total seabird mortality; and 

report to the CCAMLR Secretariat 

annually on the implementation of 

mitigation measures, including their 

effectiveness in reducing seabird 

incidental mortality. 

New and Exploratory Fishing 

Twelve Members submitted 

notifications for longline exploratory 

fisheries for toothfish in 2006/2007 in 

Subareas 48.6, 88.1, 88.2 and Divisions 

58.4.1, 58.4.2, 58.4.3a and 58.4.3b. 

There were no notifications for new 

fisheries or for fisheries in closed areas. 

The Commission revised the general 

measures for exploratory fisheries for 

Dissostichus species in the Convention 

Area for the 2006/2007 season by 

requiring the Flag State of the vessel 

fishing for Dissostichus species to 

assume the responsibility for tagging, 

tag recovery and correct reporting. The 

Commission clarified that the fishing 

vessel must cooperate with the 

CCAMLR scientific observer in 

undertaking the tagging program and 

further elaborated the requirements of 

the tagging program. 

The Commission amended its 

measures on new and exploratory 

fisheries to clarify that the use of bottom 

trawls in high seas areas of the 

Convention Area is considered a new or 

exploratory fishery. The Commission 

now requires that information on the 

known and anticipated impacts of 

bottom trawls on vulnerable marine 

ecosystems, including on the benthos 

and benthic communities, must be 

included in the notifications of new or 

exploratory fisheries. 

Icefish 

The Commission adopted area 

specific conservation measures for 

Champsocephalus gunnari for the 2006/ 

2007 season. 

The Commission set the overall catch 

limit for the C. gunnari trawl fishery in 

Subarea 48.3 for the November 15, 2006 

to November 14, 2007 season at 4,337 

tons, limited the catch of this total to 

1,084 tons during the spawning period 

(March 1, 2007 through May 31, 2007) 

and continued previously adopted 

restrictions on the fishery. The 

Commission endorsed the Scientific 

Committee’s recommendation that 

vessels in this fishery be encouraged to 

use net binding as a means to reduce 

seabird interaction and potential 

incidental mortality. 

The Commission set the catch limit 

for the C. gunnari trawl fishery within 

defined areas of Division 58.5.2 for the 

2006/2007 season at 42 tons and 

retained previously adopted restrictions 

on, and reporting requirements for, the 

fishery. 

Crab 

The Commission set the total 

allowable catch level for the pot fishery 

for crab for the 2006/2007 fishing season 

at 1,600 tons and continued to limit 

participation to one vessel per member 

country conducted as an experimental 

harvest regime. 

Squid 

The Commission set the total 

allowable catch limit for the exploratory 

jig fishery for Martialia hyadesi for the 

2006/2007 fishing season at 2,500 tons. 

Krill 

The Commission carried forward the 

precautionary catch limits for krill in 

Statistical Area 48 at 4.0 million tons 

overall and, as divided by subareas, at 

1.008 million tons in Subarea 48.1, 

1.104 million tons in Subarea 48.2, 

1.056 million tons in Subarea 48.3, and 

0.832 million tons in Subarea 48.4. 

Dissostichus Species 

The Commission set a combined catch 

limit of 3,554 tons for the longline and 

pot fisheries for D. eleginoides in the 

Shag Rocks and South Georgia areas of 

Subarea 48.3 in the 2006/2007 season. 

The Commission closed the West Shag 

Rocks area and set bycatch limits on 

other species. 

The Commission set a combined catch 

limit of 2,427 tons of D. eleginoides in 

Division 58.5.2 west of 79°20′ E from 

December 1, 2006, to November 30, 

2007, for trawl and pot fishing and from 

May 1, 2007, to August 31, 2007, for 

longline fishing. The Commission 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 20, 2007 / Notices 13091 

extended the season to September 30 for 

vessels which complete longline sink 

rate testing using CCAMLR testing 

protocols. 

The Commission designated several 

Dissostichus fisheries as exploratory 

fisheries for the 2006/2007 fishing 

season. These fisheries are total 

allowable catch fisheries and are open 

only to the flagged vessels of countries 

that notified CCAMLR of an interest by 

named vessels to participate in the 

fisheries. 

The exploratory fisheries for 

Dissostichus species authorized by the 

Commission for the 2006/2007 fishing 

season are: (1) longline fishing in 

Statistical Subarea 48.6 by no more than 

one vessel per country at any time by 

Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand 

and Norway; (2) longline fishing in 

Statistical Division 58.4.1 by Australia 

(one vessel), Republic of Korea (two 

vessels), Namibia (one vessel), New 

Zealand (three vessels), Spain (one 

vessel) and Uruguay (one vessel); (3) 

longline fishing in Statistical Division 

58.4.2 by Australia (one vessel), 

Republic of Korea (three vessels), 

Namibia (one vessel), New Zealand (two 

vessels), Spain (one vessel) and Uruguay 

(one vessel); (4) longline fishing in 

Statistical Division 58.4.3a (the Elan 

Bank) outside areas under national 

jurisdiction to no more than one vessel 

per country at any time by Japan, 

Republic of Korea and Spain; (5) 

longline fishing in Statistical Division 

58.4.3b (the BANZARE Bank) outside 

areas of national jurisdiction to no more 

than one vessel per country at any time 

by Australia, Republic of Korea, 

Namibia, Spain and Uruguay; (6) 

longline fishing in Statistical Subarea 

88.1 by Argentina (two vessels), 

Republic of Korea (three vessels), New 

Zealand (four vessels), Norway (one 

vessel), Russia (two vessels), South 

Africa (one vessel), Spain (one vessel), 

United Kingdom (two vessels), and 

Uruguay (five vessels); and (7) longline 

fishing in Statistical Subarea 88.2 by 

Argentina (two vessels), New Zealand 

(four vessels), Norway (one vessel), 

Russia (two vessels), Spain (one vessel), 

United Kingdom (two vessels), and 

Uruguay (four vessels). 

Environmental Protection 

The Commission consolidated the 

environmental protection provisions of 

its annual fishery measures into a single 

conservation measure of continuing 

application. The new conservation 

measure applies to all directed fishing. 

These measures include provisions: (1) 

prohibiting the use on fishing vessels of 

plastic packaging bands to secure bait 

boxes; (2) prohibiting the use of other 

plastic packaging bands for other 

purposes on fishing vessels which do 

not use onboard incinerators (closed 

systems); (3) requiring packaging bands 

once removed from packages to be cut 

so that they do not form a continuous 

loop and then incinerated at the earliest 

opportunity in an onboard incinerator; 

(4) requiring that all plastic residue be 

stored on board the vessel until reaching 

port and in no case discarded at sea; (5) 

prohibiting vessels fishing south of 60° 

S from dumping or discharging: oil or 

fuel products or oily residues into the 

sea (except as permitted under Annex I 

of MARPOL 73/78), garbage, food 

wastes not capable of passing through a 

screen with openings no greater than 25 

mm, poultry or parts (including egg 

shells), sewage within 12 n miles of 

land or ice shelves, sewage while the 

ship is traveling at speeds of less than 

4 knots, offal or incineration ash. Live 

poultry or other living birds may not be 

brought into areas south of 60° S and 

any dressed poultry not consumed must 

be removed from those areas. 

Requirements in previously adopted 

conservation measures prohibiting or 

regulating the disharge of offal in areas 

of the Convention north of 60° S were 

retained in the measures on incidental 

mortality of seabirds and marine 

mammals in longlines and trawls. 

Interim Prohibitions on the Use of 

Certain Gear 

The Commission adopted a measure 

restricting the use of bottom trawling 

gear in the high seas areas within the 

Convention Area through the 2007/08 

fishing season. The Scientific 

Committee will review scientific 

evidence available by 2007 in order to 

establish relevant criteria to determine 

the impacts of bottom trawl fishing on 

oceanic ecosystems and, in particular, 

vulnerable bottom marine ecosystems in 

the Convention Area. The Commission 

revised existing measures regulating 

new fisheries and exploratory fisheries 

to require approval by the Commission 

of new or exploratory bottom trawling 

fishing operations before such 

operations can occur within the 

Convention Area. 

The Commission adopted a measure 

imposing an interim prohibition on the 

use of gillnets, for purposes other than 

scientific research, in the Convention 

Area. Gillnets are defined by the 

measure as strings of single, double or 

triple netting walls, vertical, near by the 

surface, in midwater or on the bottom, 

in which fish will gill, entangle or 

enmesh. Gillnets have floats on the 

upper line (headrope) and, in general, 

weights on the ground-line (footrope). 

Gillnets consist of single or less 

commonly, double or triple netting 

(known as ‘‘trammel net’’) mounted 

together, on the same frame ropes. 

Several types of nets may be combined 

in one gear (for example, trammel net 

combined with gillnet). These nets can 

be used either alone or, as is more usual, 

in large numbers placed in line (‘‘fleets’’

of nets). The gear can be set, anchored 

to the bottom or left drifting, free or 

connected with the vessel. The use of 

gillnets in the Convention Area is 

prohibited until the Scientific 

Committee has investigated and 

reported on the potential impacts of this 

gear. 

Fishing Vessel Reporting 

The Commission revised its measure 

on the licensing and inspection 

obligations of Contracting Parties to 

require that fishing vessels licensed by 

the Contracting Party report, where 

possible, sightings of fishing vessels and 

support vessels in the Convention Area. 

The report must include as much 

information as possible on the name and 

description of the vessel; the vessel call 

sign; the registration and Lloyd’s/IMO 

number of the vessel; the Flag State of 

the vessel; photographs of the vessel to 

support the report; and any other 

information regarding the observed 

activities of the sighted vessel. The 

report must be forwarded by the master 

of the vessel licensed by the Contracting 

Party to its Flag State as soon as 

possible. 

The Commission revised its measure 

on automated satellite-linked vessel 

monitoring systems to require that for 

vessels intending to enter an area of the 

Convention Area closed to fishing, or an 

area of the Convention Area for which 

it is not licensed to fish, the Flag State 

shall provide notification to the 

Secretariat of the vessel’s intention. The 

Flag State may permit or direct that 

such notifications be provided by the 

vessel directly to the CCAMLR 

Secretariat. 

Contracting Party Data Reporting 

The Commission adopted a measure 

requiring that all Contracting Parties 

intending to fish for krill in the 

Convention Area notify the Secretariat 

no later than four months in advance of 

the regular annual meeting of the 

Commission, immediately prior to the 

season in which they intend to fish. 

The Commission revised its measure 

on automated satellite-linked vessel 

monitoring systems to require that when 

the CCAMLR Secretariat receives VMS 

data that indicates the presence of a 

vessel (1) in an area or subarea for 

which no license details have been 

provided by the Flag State to the 


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13092 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 20, 2007 / Notices 

Secretariat, or (2) in any area or subarea 

for which the Flag State or fishing vessel 

has not provided prior notification, the 

Secretariat shall notify the Flag State 

and require an explanation. The 

explanation will be forwarded to the 

Secretariat for evaluation by the 

Commission at its next annual meeting. 

Catch Documentation Scheme 

The Commission revised its measure 

on the CatchDocumentation Scheme 

(CDS) to include a procedure 

forcooperation with CCAMLR by nonContracting Parties involved in the trade 

of Dissostichus species. The 

Commission also revised the CDS 

measure to clarify that only government 

officials may request and examine the 

documentation of each shipment of 

Dissostichus species imported into or 

exported from its territory to verify that 

it includes validated documents. 

Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported 

Fishing 

The Commission approved a 

combined list of Contracting Party 

Vessels and non-Contracting Party 

Vessels suspected of illegal, unregulated 

or unreported fishing or trading (the 

IUU Vessel List). A number of vessels 

on the combined IUU Vessel List have 

been identified on previous lists by 

other names and flags. The combined 

list is posted on the public section of the 

CCAMLR website (www.ccamlr.org). A 

vessel on the IUU Vessel List will not 

be permitted to participate in 

exploratory fisheries. Contracting 

Parties are urged to prohibit trade with 

the vessels on the CCAMLR IUU Vessel 

List. 

The Commission revised the schemes 

to promote compliance by Contracting 

Party and non-Contracting Party vessels 

with CCAMLR conservation measures. 

As revised the schemes now require that 

Contracting Parties deny port access to 

vessels on the IUU Vessel List unless for 

the purpose of enforcement action or for 

reasons of force majeure or for rendering 

assistance to vessels, or persons on 

those vessels, in danger or distress. 

Vessels allowed entry to a Contracting 

Party port are to be inspected in 

accordance with CCAMLR conservation 

measures on inspection. Where port 

access is granted to such vessels 

Contracting Parties are required to 

examine documentation and other 

information, including Dissostichus 

Catch Documents, with a view to 

verifying the area in which the catch 

was taken. Where the origin of the catch 

cannot be adequately verified, 

Contracting Parties are required to 

detain the catch or refuse any landing or 

transshipment of the catch. When catch 

is found to be in contravention of 

CCAMLR conservation measures, 

Contracting Parties should, where 

possible, confiscate the catch; and 

prohibit all support to vessels with such 

catch, including non-emergency 

refueling, resupplying and repairs. 

The Commission adopted a new 

scheme to promote compliance by 

Contracting Party nationals with 

CCAMLR conservation measures. The 

scheme requires Contracting Parties to 

take appropriate measures to verify if 

any natural or legal persons subject to 

their jurisdiction are engaged in IUU 

fishing activities and take appropriate 

actions, including seeking cooperation 

by industries within their jurisdiction. 

Contracting Parties are required to 

submit reports on actions taken with 

respect to the scheme to the CCAMLR 

Secretariat and to Contracting Parties 

and non-Contracting Parties cooperating 

with CCAMLR for purposes of 

implementing the CDS. The scheme will 

be binding on Contracting Parties 

beginning July 1, 2008. 

The Commission adopted a resolution 

urging Contracting Parties to pursue 

diplomatic and other actions with nonContracting Parties to combat IUU 

fishing. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 2431 et seq. 

Dated: March 14, 2007. 

William T. Hogarth, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–5050 Filed 3–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 081806E] 

Marine Mammals and Endangered 

Species; File No. 1076–1789 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks 

and Aquariums (The Alliance), 418 

North Pitt Street, Alexandria, Virginia 

22314 (Kristi West, Ph.D., Principal 

Investigator) has been issued a permit to 

import and export parts from all 

cetaceans and pinniped species 

(excluding walrus) for purposes of 

scientific research. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review 

upon written request or by appointment 

(See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Skidmore or Amy Sloan, 

(301)713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 17, 2005, notice was 

published in the Federal Register (70 

FR 69743) that a request for a scientific 

research permit had been submitted by 

the above-named organization. The 

requested permit has been issued 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 18 and 

216), the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.), the regulations governing the 

taking, importing, and exporting of 

endangered and threatened species (50 

CFR parts 222–226) and the Fur Seal 

Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151 

et seq.). 

The Alliance has been issued a 

scientific research permit to receive, 

import and export a specified number of 

marine mammal specimens (cetaceans 

and pinnipeds, except for walrus) under 

the jurisdiction of NMFS to study and 

document the health and biology of 

wild marine mammals as well as those 

marine mammals maintained in public 

display, research, or stranding facilities 

or from samples taken during other 

permitted research. Only specimens 

collected legally and in a humane 

manner would be authorized by the 

permit. Sources of samples may include 

animals that have already died and from 

captive animals during routine 

husbandry procedures. No animals may 

be intentionally killed for the purpose of 

collecting specimens, and no money can 

be offered for the specimens. Specimens 

may be taken world-wide at anytime of 

the year for up to five years. 

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 

activity proposed is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 

Issuance of this permit, as required by 

the ESA, was based on a finding that 

such permit: (1) was applied for in good 

faith; (2) will not operate to the 

disadvantage of such endangered 

species; and (3) is consistent with the 

purposes and policies set forth in 

section 2 of the ESA. 

Documents may be reviewed in the 

following locations: 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 


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