[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 48655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19226]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XC137
Marine Mammals; File No. 17324
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; denial of permit.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that an application for a public
display permit (File No. 17324) submitted by the Georgia Aquarium Inc.,
225 Baker Street, Atlanta, GA 30313, has been denied.
ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for
review online at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/georgia_aquarium_belugas.htm or upon written request or by appointment in the
following office(s):
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Skidmore or Kristy Beard,
(301)427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 30, 2012, a notice was published
in the Federal Register (77 FR 52694) that an application had been
filed by the above named applicant for a permit to import 18 wild
caught beluga whales from the Utrish Marine Mammal Research Station in
Russia to the United States for the purpose of public display. All 18
beluga whales were collected in Sakhalin Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk in
2006, 2010, and 2011. The requested permit has been denied subject to
the provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.
1361 et seq.), and the regulations governing the taking and importing
of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216).
An environmental assessment (EA) was prepared analyzing the effects
of the proposed activities on the human environment in compliance with
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Based on the analyses in the EA, NMFS determined that denial of the
permit would not significantly impact the quality of the human
environment and that preparation of an environmental impact statement
was not required. That determination is documented in a Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI), signed on August 5, 2013.
Dated: August 5, 2013.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-19226 Filed 8-8-13; 8:45 am]
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