[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 59 (Wednesday, March 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 14525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5680]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D.032107C]


Marine Mammals; File No. 1100-1849

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Shane Moore, Moore & Moore Films, 
Box 2980, 1203 Melody Creek Lane, Jackson, Wyoming 83001 has been 
issued a permit to conduct commercial/educational photography.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment in the following office(s):
    Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 
20910; phone (301) 713-2289; fax (301) 427-2521; and
    Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668; phone 
(907) 586-7221; fax (907) 586-7249.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Hubard or Kate Swails, (301) 
713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 19, 2006 notice was published in the 
Federal Register (71 FR 40995) that a request for a commercial/
educational photography permit to take killer whales (Orcinus orca), 
gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), and minke whales (Balaenoptera 
acutorostrata) had been submitted by the above-named individual. 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 216).
    The applicant will take 10 killer whales of the Eastern North 
Pacific Transient stock, 10 gray whales, and 10 minke whales annually 
by close approach for filming in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. The 
purpose of this project is to document the behavior of marine animals 
in the presence of the carcass of a gray or minke whale that was killed 
by killer whales. The applicant will fix a remotely operated video 
camera in an underwater housing to the sea floor approximately 15 feet 
from the carcass. The camera will be deployed after the killer whales 
have left the carcass and would be controlled from a boat approximately 
100 yards away. In addition, if killer whales, gray whales, or minke 
whales pass near the boat, the applicant will submerge a small camera 
on a pole to take photographs of passing animals. This footage will be 
shared freely with the scientific community as it may reveal to what 
extent killer whales continue to feed on submerged kills, how they feed 
on these carcasses, and document what other animals may benefit from 
these carcasses as well. Filming activities will occur between April 1 
and August 31 of each year. The permit will expire three years from the 
date of issuance.
    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.

    Dated: March 23, 2007.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-5680 Filed 3-27-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S