[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 71 (Friday, April 12, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21915-21916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08571]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC614


Marine Mammals; File No. 17996

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Silverback Films Ltd, 59 Cotham 
Hill, Cotham, Bristol, BS6 6JR, United Kingdom, has applied in due form 
for a permit to conduct commercial or educational photography of 
bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before May 13, 2013.

ADDRESSES: These documents are available upon written request or by 
appointment in the following offices:
    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; and
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 
33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 824-5309.
    Written comments on this application should be submitted to the 
Chief, Permits and Conservation 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 and Conservation 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: Rosa L. Gonz[aacute]lez or Kristy 
Beard, (301) 427-8401.

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.), and the regulations governing the 
taking and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216). Section 
104(c)(6) provides for photography for educational or commercial 
purposes involving non-endangered and non-threatened marine mammals in 
the wild.
    Silverback Films Ltd requests a two-year photography permit to film 
bottlenose dolphin strand-feeding events in the estuaries and creeks of 
Bull Creek and around Hilton Head, South Carolina. Filming would be 
conducted from a small boat and from a helicopter. A maximum of 500 
dolphins, annually, would be approached. Filming would occur over one 
(or two if needed) sessions of three to four weeks each and be 
completed by October 2014. Footage would be used in a seven-part 
television series, The Hunt, an educational series on predation 
strategy and predator-prey dynamics for the British Broadcasting 
Company.
    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 the application to the Marine 
Mammal Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors.


[[Page 21916]]


    Dated: April 8, 2013.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-08571 Filed 4-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P