[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]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P