[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 224 (Monday, November 21, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71938-71939]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30013]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XA833
Marine Mammals; File No. 10018
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for permit amendment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Rachel Cartwright, Ph.D., Keiki
Kohola Project, Oxnard, California, has applied for an amendment to
Scientific Research Permit No. 10018-01.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or
before December 21, 2011.
ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for
review by selecting ``Records Open for Public Comment'' from the
Features box on the Applications and Permits for Protected Species home
page, https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then selecting File No. 10018
from the list of available applications.
These documents are also available upon written request or by
appointment in the following offices:
Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD
20910; phone (301) 427-8401; fax (301) 713-0376; and
Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Rm 1110,
Honolulu, HI 96814-4700; phone (808) 944-2200; fax (808) 973-2941.
Written comments on this application should be submitted to the
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, at the address
listed above. Comments may also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 713-
0376, or by email to [email protected]. Please include the File
No. in the subject line of the email comment.
Those individuals requesting a public hearing should submit a
written request to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education
Division at the address listed above. The request should set forth the
specific reasons why a hearing on this application would be
appropriate.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joselyd Garcia-Reyes or Carrie Hubard,
(301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject amendment to Permit No. 10018-01
is requested 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 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.),
and the regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of
endangered and threatened species (50 CFR 222-226).
Permit No. 10018, issued on June 18, 2008 (73 FR 36042) and amended
on July 14, 2010 (75 FR 43150), authorizes Dr. Cartwright to conduct
humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) research, consisting of photo-
identification, focal follows, underwater observations, and collection
of sloughed skin, in Hawaiian and Alaskan waters from May through
September each year. The permit holder is requesting the permit be
amended to authorize deployment of: (1) Suction cup satellite tags to a
maximum of 18 females in female-calf pairs and (2) implantable
satellite tags to a maximum of 6 yearling humpback whales, annually.
Tagging would only occur in Hawaii. The purposes of the tagging
activities are to:
[[Page 71939]]
(1) Verify the impact of research vessels during boat based behavioral
follows, (2) further understand how female-calf pairs use breeding
ground habitat, potentially identifying key resting regions and
establishing the degree to which female-calf pairs circulate within vs.
move between specific favored female-calf regions, and (3) further
document the behavioral dynamics of newly-independent yearlings within
breeding regions. The amended permit would expire on June 30, 2013.
A draft supplemental environmental assessment (SEA) has been
prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), to examine whether significant
environmental impacts could result from issuance of the proposed
scientific research permit. The draft SEA is available for review and
comment simultaneous with the scientific research permit application.
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.
Dated: November 15, 2011.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-30013 Filed 11-18-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P