[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 85 (Monday, May 4, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24530-24531]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11779]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 042098C]


Marine Mammals; Permit No. 959

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

ACTION: Receipt of application for amendment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Cetacean Research Unit, P.O. 
Box 159, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930, has requested an amendment to 
scientific research Permit No. 959.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 3, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The amendment request 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 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-2289);
    Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298 (508/281-9250); 
and
    Regional Administrator, Southeast Region, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, 9721 Executive Center Drive, North, St. Petersburg, FL 33702-
2432 (813/570-5301).
    Written data or views, or requests for a public hearing on this 
request should be submitted to the Chief, Permits Division, F/PR1, 
Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals requesting a hearing should 
set forth the specific reasons why a hearing on this particular request 
would be appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeannie Drevenak, 301/713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject amendment 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).
    The Permit Holder is currently authorized to conduct photo-
identification and observational studies on 400 humpback 
whales(Megaptera novaeangliae), 250 finback whales (Balaenoptera 
physalus),50 sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis), and 50 right whales 
(Eubalaena glacialis) annually in the waters of Maine, New Hampshire, 
Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida over a 5-
year period.
    The Holder is now requesting that the Permit be amended to 
authorize: (1) biopsy sampling of up to 150 humpback whales from the 
Gulf of Maine feeding population, ranging from New York to Nova Scotia; 
and (2) suction cup tagging with time-depth recorders/VHF radio tags of 
up to 50 humpback whales from the same population, and 50 finback 
whales from the New England feeding population, over the remaining 
duration of the permit. The biopsy samples will be used for several 
purposes, including an investigation into using skin collagen tensile 
strength as a means to estimate the age of a sampled whales, an 
examination of its recent exposure to human pathogens, and molecular 
genetic studies. Time-depth recorders/VHF radio tags multi-sensor 
packages will be used in conjunction with sonar traces to understand 
the feeding ecology of endangered whales in New England.
    Concurrent with the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, NMFS is forwarding copies of this application to the Marine 
Mammal

[[Page 24531]]

Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors.

    Dated: April 28, 1998.
Ann D. Terbush,
Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-11779 Filed 5-1-98; 8:45 am]
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