Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 221 / Thursday, November 17, 2005 / Notices 69743 

Researchers will capture up to 106 

green, 1 Kemp’s ridley, 1 loggerhead, 

and 1 hawksbill sea turtles by tended 

pound-net or dip-net over the course of 

the three year permit. All turtles will be 

measured, weighed, blood sampled, 

flipper tagged, Passive Integrated 

Transponder tagged, fecal sampled if 

large enough, and released. All green 

turtles will be gastric lavaged. A subset 

of green turtles will also have a satellite 

transmitter or sonic and radio receivers 

attached to their carapace. The research 

will gather information on turtle habitat, 

genetic origin, size and age composition, 

species distribution, and health status. 

This information will be used to 

develop conservation management 

measures for these species. The research 

will occur in the waters of the Big Sable 

Creek complex in southwest Florida. 

The permit is issued for a 3–year period. 

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 any endangered or 

threatened species, and (3) is consistent 

with the purposes and policies set forth 

in section 2 of the ESA. 

Dated: November 10, 2005. 

Stephen L. Leathery, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–22812 Filed 11–16–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[I.D. 110905H] 

Marine Mammals; File No. 1076–1789 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and 

Aquariums, 418 North Pitt Street, 

Alexandria, Virginia 22314 [Kristi West, 

Ph.D., Principal Investigator], has 

applied in due form for a permit to 

import and export parts from all 

cetaceans and pinniped species 

(excluding walrus) for purposes of 

scientific research. 

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments 

must be received on or before December 

19, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review 

upon written request or by appointment 

(See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION). 

Written comments or requests for a 

public hearing on this application 

should be mailed to the Chief, Permits, 

Conservation and Education Division, 

F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, 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. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

facsimile at (301)427–2521, provided 

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy 

submitted by mail and postmarked no 

later than the closing date of the 

comment period. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

e-mail. The mailbox address for 

providing email comments is 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line of the e-mail 

comment the following document 

identifier: File No. 1076–1789. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Skidmore (301)713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject permit is requested under the 

authority of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act of 1972, as amended 

(MMPA; 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 222–226), and the Fur Seal Act of 

1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151 et 

seq.). 

The Alliance of Marine Mammal 

Parks and Aquariums members 

participate in multiple research and 

husbandry programs with the overall 

objective to study and document the 

health and biology of wild marine 

mammals as well as those marine 

mammals maintained in public display, 

research, or stranding facilities. To fully 

achieve this objective, the applicant is 

requesting a permit to import/export 

parts and specimen samples (hard and 

soft parts) collected from all species of 

marine mammals (all cetaceans and 

pinnipeds, except for walrus). The 

majority of the specimens will be 

obtained from animals maintained in 

Alliance member facilities for public 

display. However, specimens from 

stranded animals and those involved in 

legally authorized research projects 

would also be covered by this permit. 

Topics of particular interest include 

diseases of marine mammals, effects of 

environmental contaminants, artificial 

insemination, stock structure, age 

determination, mortality 

determinations, pregnancy rates, calf 

production, feeding habits and 

nutrition, and distribution. Parts and 

specimen samples may be taken at any 

time during the year and in all areas 

worldwide. The requested duration of 

the permit is five years. 

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. 

Documents may be reviewed in the 

following locations: 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301)713–2289; fax (301)713–0376; 

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/ 

review.htm; 

Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand 

Point Way NE, BIN C15700, Bldg. 1, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0700; phone 

(206)526–6150; fax (206)526–6426; 

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 

21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668; phone 

(907)586–7221; fax (907)586–7249; 

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West 

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, 

CA 90802–4213; phone (562)980–4001; 

fax (562)980–4018; 

Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, 1601 

Kapiolani Blvd., Rm 1110, Honolulu, HI 

96814–4700; phone (808)973–2935; fax 

(808)973–2941; 

Northeast Region, NMFS, One 

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 

01930–2298; phone (978)281–9200; fax 

(978)281–9371; 

Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 

33701; phone (727)824–5312; fax 

(727)824–5309. 

Dated: November 10, 2005. 

Stephen L. Leathery, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–22811 Filed 11–16–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S