[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 180 (Wednesday, September 17, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48821-48822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-24643]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 082897F]


Marine Mammals; Permit No. 917 (File No. P774#2)

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


[[Page 48822]]


ACTION: Receipt of application to amend permit No. 917 (File No. 
p774#2).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr. John B. Pearce, NMFS, 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Waters Street, Room 312, Woods 
Hole, MA 02543-1097, has requested an amendment to permit no. 917.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments must be received on or before 
October 17, 1997.
ADDRESSES: The amendment request and related documents are available 
for review upon written request or by appointment in the following 
office(s):
    Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/
713-2289); and
    Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298, (508) 281-9250.
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this petition 
should be submitted to the Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, 
F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, 
Room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals requesting a 
hearing should set forth the specific reasons why a hearing on this 
particular amendment request would be appropriate.
    Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301) 713-0376, 
provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and 
postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period. Please 
note that comments will not be accepted by email or other electronic 
media.
    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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject amendment to permit no. 917, 
issued on May 11, 1994 (59 FR 25892) is requested 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 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the regulations governing the 
taking, importing, and exporting of endangered fish and wildlife (50 
CFR 222.23).
    Permit No. 917 authorizes the permit holder to conduct a number of 
studies on several cetacean species as well as gray and harbor seals in 
the northeastern U.S. and Canadian waters. The research activities 
include: Vessel surveys, aerial surveys and photogrammetry, photo-
identification studies, and the collection of biopsies. The permit 
holder now requests authorization to: increase the number of biopsy 
samples collected from humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), common 
dolphins (Delphinus delphis), Atlantic white-sided dolphins 
(Lagenorhynchus acutus), bottlenose dolphins (offshore stock, Tursiops 
truncatus), and striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba). The permittee 
is currently authorized to collect 25 biopsies from each species, and 
requests to increase the number to 50 samples for humpback whales and 
to 100 samples for the pelagic dolphins listed above.
    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial determination has been made that 
the activity proposed is categorically excluded from the requirement to 
prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.

    Dated: September 10, 1997.
Ann D. Terbush,
Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-24643 Filed 9-16-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F