[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 25 (Monday, February 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 6509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-02384]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB160


Marine Mammals; File Nos. 16193 and 17157

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit amendments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that two major permit amendments have 
been issued: Permit No. 16193-01 has been issued to Todd Robeck, D.V.M, 
Ph.D., Sea World Parks and Entertainment Corp, 500 Sea World Drive, San 
Diego, CA 92109; and, Permit No. 17157-02 has been issued to Stephen 
John Trumble, Ph.D., Baylor University, 101 Bagby Ave., Waco, TX 76706.

ADDRESSES:  The permit amendments and related documents are available 
for review upon written request or by appointment in the 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Jennifer Skidmore or Amy Sloan, (301) 
427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  On December 8, 2015, notices were published 
in the Federal Register (File No. 16193-01, 80 FR 76276; and File No. 
17157-02, 80 FR 76278) that requests for amendments had been submitted 
by the above-named applicants to amend their permits to receive, 
import, and export specimens from marine mammals for scientific 
research. The requested permit amendments have 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.), and the 
regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of 
endangered and threatened species (50 CFR parts 222-226).
    Permit No. 16193, issued on August 28, 2012, authorizes the permit 
holder to receive, import, and export cetacean and pinniped specimens 
to study reproductive physiology, including endocrinology, gamete 
biology, and cryophysiology. Permit No. 16193-01 amends the 
authorization to include unlimited samples from up to 300 wild Amazon 
River dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) annually.
    Permit No. 17157, issued on July 18, 2012, and amended on November 
7, 2014, authorizes the receipt, import and export of up to 25 earplugs 
annually of each of the following species of whale: blue (Balaenoptera 
musculus), sei (B. borealis), minke (B. acutorostrata), humpback 
(Megaptera novaeangliae), gray (Eschrichtius robustus), bowhead 
(Balaena mysticetus), fin (B. physalus), and sperm (Physeter 
macrocephalus). The samples may be obtained from natural history 
museums as well as from collections in Barrow, Alaska, of bowhead whale 
subsistence harvests.
    Permit No. 17157-02 authorizes an increase in the number of animals 
that samples that may be received, imported, and exported from 25 to 
100 individuals annually. In addition, the permit has been amended to 
authorize the receipt, import, and export of baleen samples from blue 
and fin whales.
    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.
    As required by the ESA, issuance of this permit was based on a 
finding that such permit: (1) Was applied for in good faith; (2) will 
not operate to the disadvantage of such endangered species; and (3) is 
consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the 
ESA.

    Dated: February 2, 2016.
 Perry F. Gayaldo,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
 [FR Doc. 2016-02384 Filed 2-5-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P