[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 33811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-13289]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC544


Marine Mammals; File No. 17941

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a permit has been issued to Brian 
Skerry, 285 High Street, Uxbridge, MA 01569, to conduct commercial or 
educational photography on bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) and spinner 
(Stenella longirostris) dolphins.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
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;
    Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Rm 1110, 
Honolulu, HI 96814-4700; phone (808) 944-2200; fax (808) 973-2941; and
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 
33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 824-5309.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Hubard or Kristy Beard, (301) 
427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 22, 2013, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (78 FR 17639) that a request for a permit to 
conduct commercial/educational photography had been submitted by the 
above-named applicant. The requested permit has been issued under the 
authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the regulations governing the taking and 
importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216).
    Permit No. 17941 authorizes two photography/filming projects. The 
first consists of helicopter flights over Florida Bay to film 
bottlenose dolphins mud-ring feeding. A maximum of 400 dolphins may be 
harassed during the filming. The second project focuses on areas where 
spinner dolphins and humans interact in Hawaii. Locations include the 
west side of Oahu and four bays on the Kona coast of Hawaii Island. 
Methods include both vessel-based and underwater photography. Up to 75 
spinner dolphins may be approached within 50 yards during the filming. 
Four pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata) may also be 
approached if they are associated with spinner dolphins. Images and 
video from both locations will be used for a feature story in National 
Geographic Magazine on dolphin cognition and intelligence. The permit 
expires on March 31, 2014.
    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.

    Dated: May 31, 2013.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-13289 Filed 6-4-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P