19648 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 63 / Monday, April 2, 2012 / Notices 

(voice) or (808) 522–8226 (fax), at least 

5 days prior to the meeting date. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: March 28, 2012. 

William D. Chappell, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7858 Filed 3–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA599 

Marine Mammals; File No. 16094 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

permit amendment. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Alaska Department of Fish and 

Game, Juneau, AK, has applied for an 

amendment to Scientific Research 

Permit No. 16094. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email 

comments must be received on or before 

May 2, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review by 

selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public 

Comment’’ from the Features box on the 

Applications and Permits for Protected 

Species home page, https:// 

apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then selecting 

File No. 16094 from the list of available 

applications. 

These documents are also available 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the following offices: 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301)427–8401; fax (301)713–0376; and 

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 

21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668; phone 

(907)586–7221; fax (907)586–7249. 

Written comments on this application 

should be submitted to the Chief, 

Permits and Conservation Division, at 

the address listed above. Comments may 

also be submitted by facsimile to 

(301)713–0376, or by email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Please 

include the File No. in the subject line 

of the email comment. 

Those individuals requesting a public 

hearing should submit a written request 

to the Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division at the address listed above. The 

request should set forth the specific 

reasons why a hearing on this 

application would be appropriate. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tammy Adams or Joselyd Garcia-Reyes, 

(301)427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject amendment to Permit No. 16094 

is requested under the authority of the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, 

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and 

the regulations governing the taking and 

importing of marine mammals (50 CFR 

part 216). 

Permit No. 16094, issued on 

September 20, 2011 (76 FR 61345), 

authorizes the permit holder to take 

harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) during 

aerial surveys for population census and 

radio tracking; ground surveys for 

photo-identification, counts and 

behavioral observations; vessel 

approaches of animals equipped with 

telemetry equipment; vessel surveys for 

radio tracking; and capture by 

entanglement in a net in the water or by 

hoop net or dip net on land. Captured 

animals will: be restrained (chemical or 

physical); be weighed and measured; 

have biological samples collected 

(blood, milk (lactating females), blubber, 

skin, muscle, hair, mucus membrane 

swabs, stomach lavage, tooth and 

vibrissae); be administered deuterated 

water; have measurement of blubber via 

ultrasound; be marked with flipper 

identification tags; and have internal 

(PIT tags) or external scientific 

instruments attached. Tissue samples 

will be collected from subsistence 

harvested animals and other mortalities 

and some samples will be exported to 

Canada for analysis. The permit also 

includes incidental harassment and 

accidental mortality of harbor porpoises 

(Phocoena phocoena) during seal 

capture activities. The permit is valid 

through December 31, 2016. 

The permit holder is requesting the 

permit be amended to include 

authorization for takes related to a 

whisker growth and replacement study 

aimed at improving utility of dietary 

stable isotope information derived from 

whiskers. The amendment would 

increase the number of whiskers that 

may be collected from seals captured 

during field work from 1 per animal to 

2 per animal, and add photogrammetry 

for these seals. There would be no 

increase in the numbers of seals 

captured or sampled in the wild. The 

amendment would also add a noninvasive study using captive seals held 

at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, 

AK. For that study, researchers would 

use hair dye to mark the seals’ whiskers 

and photo document whisker growth 

over time. 

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. 

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: March 27, 2012. 

Tammy C. Adams, 

Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7847 Filed 3–30–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XB144 

[Endangered Species; File No. 13330] 

Receipt of Application for a Permit 

Modification 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

a permit modification. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

NMFS Southeast Fisheries Center 

(SEFSC) (hereinafter ‘‘Permit Holder’’); 

75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FL 

33149 [Responsible Party: Bonnie 

Ponwith, Ph.D.], has requested a 

modification to scientific research 

Permit No. 13330–01. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email 

comments must be received on or before 

May 2, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: The modification request 

and related documents are available for 

review by selecting ‘‘Records Open for 

Public Comment’’ from the Features box 

on the Applications and Permits for 

Protected Species (APPS) home page, 

https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/, and then 

selecting File No. 13330 from the list of 

available applications. These documents 

are also available upon written request 

or by appointment in the following 

offices: 

Permits and Conservation Division, 

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 

1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; 

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