48820 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 180 / Wednesday, September 17, 1997 / Notices

that body of water, NMFS will

investigate the stranding to determine

whether a reasonable chance exists that

the SHIPS project caused the animal’s

death. If NMFS determines, based upon

a necropsy of the animal(s), that the

death was likely due to the seismic

source, the survey must cease until

procedures are altered to eliminate the

potential for future deaths.

Monitoring

The objectives of the proposed

monitoring program will be: To mitigate

potential harassment of marine

mammals, to document the number of

animals of each species present in the

vicinity of the sound transmissions, and

to evaluate the reactions of marine

mammals to these transmissions. In

addition, hydrophones will be used to

measure sound levels, to correlate

mammal behavior with actual, received

sound levels. Focused surveys will be

conducted in geographic areas of

particular concern, especially for gray

whales that migrate past the western

entrance to the Straits of Juan de Fuca

and other members of this species that

spend the summer in the survey area

(near south Whidbey Island and the

Straits of Juan de Fuca), humpback

whales near Swiftsure Bank and the

waters west of the Straits, harbor

porpoise that tend to congregate along

western Whidbey Island and elsewhere,

and minke whales that frequent shallow

banks in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. All

species of large whales (humpback,

gray, minke, or killer whales) will be

photographed to identify the individual

using the area.

It should be recognized that, at this

time, the monitoring program is

unfunded and therefore may need to be

modified in the future. However, in

order for an IHA to be issued,

monitoring will need to be conducted at

a level which ensures that the activity

will have no more than a negligible

impact on marine mammal species or

stocks.

Reporting

The USGS will provide an initial

report to NMFS within 90 days of the

completion of the 1998 phase of the

marine seismic project. This report will

provide dates and locations of seismic

operations, details of marine mammal

sightings, and estimates of the amount

and nature of all takes by harassment. A

final technical report will be provided

by USGS within 1 year of completion of

the 1998 phase of the Puget Sound

marine seismic project. The final

technical report will contain a

description of the methods, results, and

interpretation of all monitoring tasks.

Consultation

Under section 7 of the Endangered

Species Act, NMFS has begun

consultation on the proposed issuance

of an incidental harassment

authorization. Consultation will be

concluded upon completion of the

comment period and consideration of

those comments in the final

determination on issuance of an

authorization.

National Environmental Policy Act

In conjunction with this notice,

NMFS has released a draft EA that

addresses the impacts on the human

environment from issuance of the

authorization and the alternatives to the

proposed action. A copy of the draft EA

is available upon request (see

ADDRESSES).

Conclusions

NMFS has preliminarily determined

that the short-term impact of conducting

deep crustal marine seismic surveys

will result, at worst, in a temporary

modification in behavior by certain

species of pinnipeds, and possibly some

individual cetaceans. While behavioral

modifications may be made by certain

species of marine mammals to avoid the

resultant noise from airgun arrays, this

behavioral change is expected to have a

negligible impact on the animals.

In addition, no take by injury and/or

death is anticipated and takes will be at

the lowest level practicable due to

incorporation of the mitigation

measures mentioned above. No known

rookeries, mating grounds, areas of

concentrated feeding, or other areas of

special significance for marine

mammals occur within or near the

planned area of operations during the

season of operations.

Proposed Authorization

NMFS proposes to issue an incidental

harassment authorization to the USGS

for the possible harassment of small

numbers of several species of marine

mammals incidental to collecting deepcrustal marine seismic data in the Puget

Sound/Straits of Juan de Fuca region of

Washington State, provided the abovementioned mitigation, monitoring, and

reporting requirements are incorporated.

NMFS has preliminarily determined

that the proposed activities would result

in the harassment of only small

numbers of each of several species of

marine mammals and will have no more

than a negligible impact on these marine

mammal stocks.

Information Solicited

NMFS requests interested persons to

submit comments, information, and

suggestions concerning this request (see

ADDRESSES).

Dated: September 11, 1997.

Hilda Diaz-Soltero,

Director, Office of Protected Resources,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–24674 Filed 9–16–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 090997E]

South Atlantic Fishery Management

Council; Public Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery

Management Council (Council) will

hold a meeting of its Sargassum and

Water Column Habitat Sub-Group.

DATES: The meeting will be held on

October 7-8 1997. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for specific dates and

times.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science

Center, 101 Pivers Island Road,

Beaufort, NC.

Council address: South Atlantic

Fishery Management Council, One

Southpark Circle, Suite 306; Charleston,

SC 29407-4699.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susan Buchanan, Public Information

Officer; telephone: (803) 571-4366; fax:

(803) 769-4520; email:

susan.buchanan@noaa.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Meeting Dates

October 7, 1997, 1:30 p.m. to 5:00

p.m. & October 8, 1997, 8:30 a.m. to

12:30 p.m.

The Sub-Group will meet to review

Sargassum habitat and water column

information in state, Federal and

regional systems, and to discuss fishing

and non-fishing threats to these habitats.

The Sub-Group will also discuss policy

recommendations and research and

monitoring needs for these habitats.

Although other issues not contained

in this agenda may come before this

Sub-Group for discussion, in accordance

with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act,

those issues may not be the subject of

formal Sub-Group action during this

meeting. Sub-Group action will be
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 180 / Wednesday, September 17, 1997 / Notices 48821

restricted to those issues specifically

identified in the agenda listed in this

notice.

Special Accommodations

The meeting is physically accessible

to people with disabilities. Requests for

sign language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to the

Council office (see ADDRESSES) by

September 26, 1997.

Dated: September 10, 1997.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–24672 Filed 9–16–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 082797D]

Marine Mammals; Permit No. 837 (P77–

1#67)

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 permit no. 837 submitted by

The National Marine Mammal

Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science

Center, NMFS, NOAA, 7600 Sand Point

Way NE., BIN C15700, Seattle,

Washington 98115, has been granted.

ADDRESSES: The amendment 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

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box

21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July

15, 1997, notice was published in the

Federal Register (62 FR 37885) that an

amendment of permit no. 837, issued

June 4, 1993 (58 FR 33085), had been

requested by the above-named

organization. The original permit

authorized studies on northern fur seals

(Callorhinus ursinus) over a five-year

period on rookeries in the Bering Sea

and eastern North Pacific Ocean. 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

provisions of § 216.39 of the Regulations

Governing the Taking and Importing of

Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216), and

the Fur Seal Act of 1966, as amended

(16 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.).

The permit was amended to authorize

the following increased takings of

northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus):

1) extend shear marking activities

authorized in sections A.1 and A.2 to

Bogoslof Island; 2) blood sampling of up

to 40 pups of the 300 pups authorized

in A.3 to be captured and tagged on San

Miguel; 3) tissue sampling (i.e., hair,

skin, blubber, muscle and liver) of up to

120 already deceased juvenile male

seals (60 on St. Paul, 60 on St. George);

and 4) capture and recapture of up to 20

adult female seals on Bogoslof Island to

study foraging behavior. Each seal will

be instrumented with a satellite tag and/

or time-depth recorder and VHF

transmitter via 5–minute epoxy glue;

flipper tagged, weighed, measured, and

released. At recapture, the instruments

will be removed and the animals will be

weighed, measured, administered an

enema and released. Some of these seals

may be sedated with Valium. At each

capture, the seal will be given an

intramuscular injection of oxytocin and

milk sampled. Up to 2,000 pups and

2,000 non-pups may be incidentally

harassed during the course of these

activities.

Dated: September 5, 1997.

Ann D. Terbush

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–24641 Filed 9–16–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 090997B]

Marine Mammals; Permit No. 970

(P557E)

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 permit no. 970 submitted by

Scripps Institution of Oceanography,

Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean

Climate Project, Institute for Geophysics

and Planetary Physics, 9500 Gilman

Drive, La Jolla, California 92093–02252,

has been granted.

ADDRESSES: The amendment and related

documents are available for review

upon written request or by appointment

in the following office(s):

Permits Division, Office of Protected

Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West

Highway, Room 13130, Silver Spring,

MD 20910 (301/713–2289); and

Regional Administrator, Southwest

Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean

Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA

90802–4213 (310/980–4001); and

Protected Species Program Manager,

Pacific Area Office, NMFS, 2570 Dole

Street, Room 106, Honolulu, HI 96822–

2396 (808/973–2987).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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

provisions of § 216.39 of 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 provisions of § 222.25 of the

regulations governing the taking,

importing, and exporting of endangered

fish and wildlife (50 CFR 222.23).

This amendment incorporates into

Permit No. 970 refinements to the

research protocol, as provided for by

Special Condition A.8. of Permit 970.

Issuance of this amendment, 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 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: September 11, 1997.

Ann D. Terbush,

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–24642 Filed 9–16–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

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.