[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 121 (Tuesday, June 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35728-35729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14626]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XC521
Marine Mammals; File No. 16632
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 the
NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Hawaiian Monk
Seal Research Program, 1845 Wasp Boulevard, Building 176, Honolulu, HI
96818 (Responsible Party: Frank Parish, Ph.D.), to conduct research and
enhancement on Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi).
ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review on
the following Web site: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/monkseal16632.htm; or, upon written request or by appointment in the
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Sloan or Courtney Smith, (301)427-
8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 1, 2013, notice was published in
the Federal Register (78 FR 13863) that a
[[Page 35729]]
request for a permit to conduct research and enhancement on Hawaiian
monk seals 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.), 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 regulations governing the taking,
importing, and exporting of endangered and threatened species (50 CFR
parts 222-226).
Permit No. 16632-00 authorizes the PIFSC to carry out research and
enhancement activities designed to conserve and recover the endangered
Hawaiian monk seal. Activities may occur on beaches and in nearshore
waters throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago (Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands [NWHI] and main Hawaiian Islands [MHI]) and Johnston Atoll, and
in facilities housing captive monk seals. Research activities include
visual and photographic monitoring, tagging, pelage bleach marking,
health screening, foraging studies, deworming research, experimental
translocation, necropsies, tissue sampling, import/export of parts,
behavioral modification research, and vaccination research. Enhancement
activities include translocations (excluding two-stage translocations
involving moving young seals from the NWHI and releasing them in the
MHI), hazing and removal of aggressive adult male seals that harm or
kill other seals, disentangling, dehooking, deworming, treating injured
seals in-situ, behavioral modification, vaccination, and supplemental
feeding of post-release rehabilitated seals. Incidental harassment of
monk seals, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and spinner
dolphins (Stenella longistrostris) is authorized. Research studies may
also be conducted on seals in captivity. The permit expires on June 30,
2019.
In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), NMFS has determined that the activities
proposed in Permit No. 16632-00 are consistent with the Preferred
Alternative (Alternative 3: Limited Translocation) in the Final
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Hawaiian monk seal
Recovery Actions (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/eis/hawaiianmonksealeis.htm), and that issuance of the permit would not
have a significant adverse impact on the human environment.
As required by the ESA, issuance of this permit was based on a
finding that such permit: (1) Was applied for in good faith; (2) will
not operate to the disadvantage of such endangered species; and (3) is
consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the
ESA.
Dated: June 18, 2014.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-14626 Filed 6-23-14; 8:45 am]
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