[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24470-24471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9857]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA929


Marine Mammals; Photography Permit File No. 17032

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 a permit has been issued to Shane 
Moore, Moore & Moore Films, Box 2980, 1203 Melody Creek Lane, Jackson, 
WY 83001 to conduct commercial/educational photography in Alaska.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Hubard or Joselyd Garcia-Reyes, 
(301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 13, 2012, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (77 FR 2037) that a request for a permit for 
commercial/educational photography had been submitted by the above-
named applicant. 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.) and the regulations governing the taking and 
importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216).

[[Page 24471]]

    Permit No. 17032 authorizes Mr. Moore to film gray (Eschrichtius 
robustus) and killer (Orcinus orca) whales in the eastern Aleutian 
Islands, primarily near Ikatan Bay and along the Ikatan Peninsula on 
the south side of Unimak Island, Alaska. The purpose of the project is 
to document killer whales hunting gray whales migrating through False 
Pass and Unimak Pass and to record the behavior of marine animals in 
the presence of a gray whale carcass. Filming will occur between April 
and June of each year. A maximum of 35 killer whales and 10 gray whales 
could be closely approached annually. Footage will be obtained from 
vessel-mounted cameras, a polecam that may be submerged next to the 
boat, and, as the opportunity arises, from a remotely operated video 
camera in an underwater housing placed on the sea floor near a gray 
whale carcass. Footage will be used for a television program about 
predators and the challenges they face. The permit will expire on April 
15, 2017.
    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: April 18, 2012.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-9857 Filed 4-23-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P