[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 3, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 34801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-16945]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 062096A]


Marine Mammals; Permit No. 987 (P598)

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

ACTION: Scientific research permit amendment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a request for amendment of 
scientific research permit no. 987 submitted by Dr. Jim Darling, P.O. 
Box 384, Tofino, British Columbia, Canada VOR 2Z0, has been granted.

ADDRESSES: The amendment and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
    Permits Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-
West Highway, Suite 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-2289);
    Director, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-
1668 (907/586-7221);
    Director, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, 
Long Beach, CA 90802-4213 (310/980-4001); and
    Coordinator, Pacific Area Office, NMFS, 2570 Dole Street, Room 106, 
Honolulu, HI 96822-2396 (808/973-2987).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 20, 1996, notice was published in the 
Federal Register (61 FR 25209) that an amendment of permit No. 987, 
issued March 1, 1996 (61 FR 9438), had been requested by the above-
named individual. The requested amendment has been granted under the 
authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the provisions of paragraphs (d) and (e) of 
Sec. 216.33 of 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 provisions of 
Sec. 222.25 of the regulations governing the taking, importing, and 
exporting of endangered fish and wildlife (50 CFR parts 222).
    Permit No. 987 authorizes the taking (i.e., harassment) of up to 
200 humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the course of 
behavioral and photo-identification studies and biopsy sampling, in the 
waters around the main Hawaiian Islands, primarily off of Maui, Hawaii, 
over a period of 2 years. Amendment No. 1 to Permit No. 987, 
authorizes: 1) An increase in the total number of harassment takes 
authorized from 200 to up to 1000 animals annually, in Hawaii waters, 
up to 100 of which may be biopsy sampled annually; 2) an increase in 
the duration of the permit from two to three years; 3) the biopsy of 10 
cows with calves or yearlings (biopsy of calves/yearlings is not 
requested); 4) the opportunistic collection of biopsy samples from dead 
stranded whales and retrieve humpback whale carcasses for necropsy; 5) 
the inclusion of Southeast Alaska, specifically Frederick Sound and 
Stephens Passage as research locations; and 6) in the requested Alaska 
locations, the take by harassment of up to 500 humpback whales 
annually, up to 100 of which may be biopsy sampled annually.
    Issuance of this Permit as required by the ESA of 1973 was based on 
a finding that the 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 20, 1996.
William Windom,
Acting Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-16945 Filed 7-2-96; 8:45 am]
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