[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 93 (Friday, May 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29847-29848]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11309]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE580


Marine Mammals; File No. 19116

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 the NOAA Office of Science and 
Technology (Ned Cyr, Responsible Party), 1315 East-West Highway, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910, has applied in due form for a permit to conduct 
research on sixteen species of marine mammals in the Pacific Ocean.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before June 13, 2016.

ADDRESSES: The application is available for review by selecting 
``Records Open for Public Comment'' from the ``Features'' box on the 
Applications and Permits for Protected Species (APPS) home page, 
https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then selecting File No. 19116 from the 
list of available applications.
    These documents are also available 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.
    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: Sara Young or Carrie Hubard, (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.), 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 222-226).
    The applicant requests a five-year permit to conduct a research 
program involving studies of sound production, diving and other 
behavior, and responses to sound of marine mammals, including 
endangered species. The results would be integrated with related 
studies and directly contribute to conservation management for sound 
producers and regulatory agencies by identifying characteristics of 
target species that are critical for passive monitoring, detection, 
and/or density estimation; and, by demonstrating how specific sounds, 
including simulated military sonar, may evoke behavioral responses in 
marine mammals. The experimental design involves temporarily attaching 
individual recording tags to measure vocalization, behavior, and 
physiological parameters as well as sound exposure. Behavior will be 
measured before, during, and after carefully controlled exposures of 
sound in conventional playback experiments. Tagged subjects will be 
exposed to received sound levels up to 180 dB re: 1[mu]Pa. This study 
will involve various activities that could take animals by harassment, 
including close approaches, attachment of tags, and sound exposure. 
Small fragments of sloughed skin, which often remain attached to 
retrieved tags, would be used for genetic analyses. Target species 
include beaked whales and other odontocetes, key baleen whales, and 
pinniped species for whom such data have not been previously obtained; 
other marine species may be incidentally impacted. Please refer to the 
tables in the application for the numbers of marine mammals, by species 
and stock, proposed for this permit. The research will be focused in 
the waters within the U.S. Navy's Southern California Range Complex, 
and primarily near the vicinity of San Clemente Island northward to 
Monterey Bay.
    NMFS prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) under 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 and conduct of the 
research. The draft EA is available upon request 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 the application to the Marine 
Mammal

[[Page 29848]]

Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors.

    Dated: May 10, 2016.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-11309 Filed 5-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P