Document Headings

                    Document headings vary by document type but may contain                    the following:                  
                -                       the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document                    
                -                       the number of the CFR title and the number of each part                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly                      related to                    
                -                       the agency docket number / agency internal file number                    
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###### Department of Commerce

###### National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

          - [I.D. 060601A]

# AGENCY:

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

# ACTION:

Issuance of permit.

# SUMMARY:

Notice is hereby given that The Whale Center of New England, P.O. Box 159 , Gloucester, MA 01931-0159 (PI: Mason Weinrich) has been issued a permit to take four large whale species for purposes of scientific research.

# ADDRESSES:

The permit 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 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301) 713-2289; fax (301) 713-0376;

Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298; phone (978) 281-9200; fax (978) 281-9371;

Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive North, St. Petersburg, FL 33702-2432; phone (727) 570-5301; fax (727) 570-5320.

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tammy Adams or Ruth Johnson (301) 713-2289.

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

                    On December 27, 2000, notice was published in the                     **Federal Register**                     (65 FR 81844) that a request for a scientific research permit to take four large whale species  had been submitted by the above-named organization.  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*.), 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*.), the regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and threatened species (50 CFR parts 222-226), and the Fur Seal Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151*et seq*.).                

Issuance of this permit, 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: June 11, 2001.

Ann D. Terbush,

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01-15194 Filed 6-15-01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE  3510-22-S