[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51189-51190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18298]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XE763
Marine Mammals; File No. 18879
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 Heather E. Liwanag, Ph.D.
(California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407-
0401), has applied in due form for a permit to conduct research on
Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) near McMurdo Station,
Antarctica.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or
before September 2, 2016.
ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are 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. 18879 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
[[Page 51190]]
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 Amy Sloan, (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 applicant proposes to study the thermoregulatory strategies
(insulation, thermogenic mechanisms) by which Weddell seal pups
maintain euthermia in air and in water and examine the development of
diving capability (oxygen stores) as the animals prepare for
independent foraging. This study will take place near McMurdo Station
in Antarctica. In each field season (two field seasons total), nine
pups (18 total) will be handled at five time points between two days
and eight weeks of age. Protocols not requiring sedation (mass,
morphometrics, core and surface temperatures, metabolic rates) will be
conducted on all nine individuals at all five time points under manual
restraint. Protocols requiring anesthesia (body composition, biopsies,
and blood volume analysis) will be sampled twice for each animal: Once
between two days and four weeks of age, and again at six weeks; one
additional anesthesia procedure will be conducted for a single blood
draw at seven or eight weeks. An additional 12 pups will be handled for
vibrissae sampling annually, and a second cohort of nursing pups may be
handled annually if study animals are not relocated at any of the 5
time points for resampling. The applicant is also proposing to take up
to 700 animals for flipper tag reading, thermal imaging, and incidental
harassment due to work with conspecifics. Up to six pup mortalities are
requested annually, not to exceed ten over the two field seasons. The
permit would be valid for three years.
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.
Dated: July 28, 2016.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-18298 Filed 8-2-16; 8:45 am]
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