[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 133 (Thursday, July 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32344-32345]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14714]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF530
[Marine Mammals; File No. 21006]


Receipt of Application

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 Linnea Pearson, California 
Polytechnic State University, 1 Grand Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, 
has applied in due form for a permit to conduct research on Weddell 
seals (Leptonychotes weddellii).

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before August 14, 2017.

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. 21006 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 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.) and 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), ten pups 
(20 total) will be handled at four time points

[[Page 32345]]

between one week and eight weeks of age. Protocols not requiring 
sedation (mass, morphometrics, core and surface temperatures, metabolic 
rates) as well as protocols requiring anesthesia (body composition, 
biopsies, and blood volume analysis) will be conducted on five 
individuals at all four time points under manual restraint. Metabolic 
and morphometric measurements will be conducted on a separate cohort of 
five pups at each of the four time points. The applicant is also 
proposing to take up to 350 animals for flipper tag reading, thermal 
imaging, and incidental harassment due to work with conspecifics. Take 
of seven Weddell seal pups, 15 Weddell seal adult females, and 20 
crabeater seals is also requested due to harassment from capturing the 
Weddell seal pups. Up to two pup mortalities are requested annually, 
not to exceed three over the two field seasons. The permit would be 
valid for two 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 10, 2017.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-14714 Filed 7-12-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P