[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 5, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17315-17316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-8252]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 032395A]


Marine Mammals and Endangered Species; Permits

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Receipt of application for a scientific research permit (P586).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Continental Shelf Associates, Inc. 
(principal investigator: Stephen Viada), has applied in due form for a 
permit to take the marine mammals and sea turtles listed below for the 
purpose of scientific research.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before May 5, 1995.

ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for 
review upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
    Permits Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-
West Highway, Room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713-2289);
    Director, Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, 
MA 01930-2298 (508/281-9250);
    Director, Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive, N., 
St. Petersburg, FL 33702-2432 (813/893-3141).
    Written data or views, or requests for a public hearing on this 
request, should be submitted to the Chief, Permits Division, F/PR1, 
Office of Protected Resources, Silver Spring, MD 20910, within 30 days 
of the publication of this notice. Those individuals requesting a 
hearing should set forth the specific reasons why a hearing on this 
particular request would be appropriate.
    Concurrent with the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, the Secretary of Commerce is forwarding copies of this 
application to the Marine Mammal Commission and its Committee of 
Scientific Advisors.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is requested 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 (ESA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the Regulations 
Governing the Taking, Importing, and Exporting of Endangered Fish and 
Wildlife (50 CFR parts 217-227).
    The applicant seeks authorization to take by harassment an 
unspecified number of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, (Tursiops 
truncatus), common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), striped dolphin 
(Stenella coeruleoalba), Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella 
frontalis), harbor porpoise (phocoena), Risso's dolphins (Grampus 
griseus), Atlantic white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus acutus), rough-
toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis), long-finned pilot whales 
(Globicephala melaena), short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala 
macrorhynchus), pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps), dwarf sperm 
whales (Kogia simus), Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris), 
dense-beaked [[Page 17316]] whales (Mesoplodon densirostris), Antillean 
beaked whales (Mesoplodon europaeus), true's beaked whales (Mesoplodon 
mirus), white whales (Delphinapterus leucas), sperm whales (Physeter 
macrocephalus), fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), minke whales 
(Balaenoptera acutorostrata), blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), sei 
whales (Balaenoptera borealis), humpback whales (Megaptera 
novaeangliae), Northern right whales (Eubalaena glacialis), killer 
whales (Orcinus orca), Bryde's whales (Balaenoptera edeni), and pygmy 
killer whales (Feresa attenuata). In addition, the applicant seeks 
authorization to take annually by harassment 180 leatherback sea 
turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) and 270 loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta 
caretta). Proposed taking will be by close approach (within 650 feet) 
of a fixed-wing aircraft at a speed of 80-140 mph to document the 
presence, density, and distribution of marine mammals. Surveys will be 
conducted from April 1995 through October 1996 in Norfolk, Virginia, 
and Mayport, Florida, and will encompass the continental shelf edge 
(300-600 feet depth contours). The results of the aerial survey will 
provide an adequate biological assessment of the two proposed survey 
areas with respect to habitat utilization by marine mammals and aid in 
selecting a candidate site for shock testing the SEAWOLF submarine.

    Dated: March 30, 1995.
Ann D. Terbush,
Chief, Permits & Documentation Division, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 95-8252 Filed 4-4-95; 8:45 am]
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