Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 85 / Thursday, May 3, 2007 / Notices 24565 

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.), 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 

the taking, importing, and exporting of 

endangered and threatened species (50 

CFR 222–226). 

The applicant requests authority to 

study 31 cetacean species including 

blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin 

(Balaenoptera physalus), and humpback 

(Megaptera novaeangliae) whales. The 

purpose of the research is to improve 

baseline data on marine mammal status, 

abundance, stock structure, life history, 

seasonal distribution, and acoustic 

communication and behavior of nonESA and ESA listed species. Activities 

include photo-identification, biopsy, 

suction-cup tagging, and fecal sampling. 

Research would be conducted in the 

Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the 

United States and around the Hawaiian 

Islands. No mortality of animals is 

requested. The permit would be issued 

for five years. 

Concurrent with the publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register, 

NMFS is forwarding copies of this 

application to the Marine Mammal 

Commission and its Committee of 

Scientific Advisors. 

Dated: April 26, 2007. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–8398 Filed 5–2–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 042607B] 

Endangered Species; File No. 1557 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

modification 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

Molly Lutcavage, Department of 

Zoology, 177 A Spaulding Hall, 

University of New Hampshire, Durham, 

NH 03824–2617, has requested a 

modification to scientific research 

Permit No. 1557. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail 

comments must be received on or before 

June 4, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: The modification request 

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 

Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th 

Ave South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701; 

phone (727)824–5312; fax (727)824– 

5309. 

Written comments or requests for a 

public hearing on this request should be 

submitted to the Chief, Permits, 

Conservation and Education Division, 

F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those 

individuals requesting a hearing should 

set forth the specific reasons why a 

hearing on this particular modification 

request would be appropriate. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

facsimile at (301)427–2521, provided 

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy 

submitted by mail and postmarked no 

later than the closing date of the 

comment period. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

e-mail. The mailbox address for 

providing e-mail comments is 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line of the e-mail 

comment the following document 

identifier: File No. 1557. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patrick Opay or Kate Swails, (301)713– 

2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject modification to Permit No. 1557, 

issued on June 21, 2006 (71 FR 36520) 

is requested under the authority of the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and 

the regulations governing the taking, 

importing, and exporting of endangered 

and threatened species (50 CFR 222– 

226). 

Permit No. 1557 authorizes the permit 

holder to investigate leatherback sea 

turtle regional behavior and movements 

in near-shore waters off the eastern 

United States and to identify their 

dispersal in relation to oceanographic 

conditions and fishing activities. The 

research will also help establish 

baseline health assessments, genetic 

identities, sex ratios, and stable isotope 

composition of leatherback sea turtle 

tissues and prey. Researchers are 

authorized to conduct research on up to 

12 leatherback sea turtles annually that 

have been disentangled from fishing 

gear by the stranding network or that 

researchers have captured using a 

breakaway hoop net. Turtles are 

measured, weighed, photographed and 

video taped, flipper and passive 

integrated transponder (PIT) tagged, 

blood sampled, cloacal swabbed, nasal 

swabbed, skin sampled, tagged with 

electronic instruments, and released. 

The research permit was issued for 5 

years. The permit holder currently 

requests authorization to take an 

additional eight leatherbacks per year. 

Turtles would be measured, weighed, 

photographed and video taped, flipper 

and PIT tagged, blood sampled, cloacal 

swabbed, nasal swabbed, skin sampled. 

The researchers propose to attach 

satellite-linked data recorders to the 

turtle’s carapace and to feed stomach 

temperature pills to the animals. These 

pills would record stomach 

temperatures and transmit them to the 

satellite-linked data recorder for 

transmission to the researchers. This 

research would help researchers better 

understand where, when, and under 

what environmental conditions 

leatherback sea turtles forage so as to 

better predict their movements. This 

information would be used to help 

predict leatherback movements and 

potential interactions with fisheries and 

other human activities to allow resource 

managers to design management 

strategies to protect this species. 

Dated: April 26, 2007. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–8399 Filed 5–2–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for clearance the following 

proposal for collection of information 

under the provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). 

Agency: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO). 

Title: Secrecy and License to Export. 

Form Number(s): N/A. 

Agency Approval Number: 0651– 

0034. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Burden: 1,310 hours annually. 

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