[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11131-11132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5014]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XR52
Marine Mammals; File No. 14534
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of amended application.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Ned Cyr, Director, NOAA Office of
Science and Technology, Silver Spring, MD, has submitted a revised
application for a permit to conduct research on marine mammals in the
Pacific Ocean.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or
before April 9, 2010.
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. 14534 from the list of available applications.
These documents are also available upon written request or by
appointment in the following office(s):
Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD
20910; phone (301) 713-2289; fax (301) 713-0376; and
Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long
Beach, CA 90802-4213; phone (562) 980-4001; fax (562) 980-4018.
Written comments on this application should be submitted to the
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, at the address
listed above. Comments may also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 713-
0376, or by e-mail to [email protected]. Please include the
File No. in the subject line of the e-mail comment.
Those individuals requesting a public hearing should submit a
written request to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education
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: Tammy Adams or Carrie Hubard, (301)
713-2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 11, 2009, notice was published
(74 FR 46745) of a request for a permit 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 original application is a request for a five-year permit to
conduct a research program involving studies of sound production,
diving and other
[[Page 11132]]
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[micro]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, that are 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.
The applicant has revised the application to (1) increase the
number of Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus), bottlenose dolphins
(Tursiops truncatus), Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus
obliquidens), and northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris)
that may be harassed by close approach, focal follow, tag attachment,
and sound exposure, to include these species as focal animals in the
overall objectives; (2) increase the number of requested ``tagless''
playbacks for some cetacean species, such as blue whales (Balaenoptera
musculus) and fin whales (B. physalus) and the social pelagic
delphinids, but not for the more solitary and deep-diving beaked whale
species, to increase data obtained on behavioral responses; (3) modify
the proposed action area slightly northward to 35[deg] 0' N; the
longitude boundaries remain as before (from 116[deg] 0' to 127[deg] 0'
W); and (4) clarify tagging and playback protocols and mitigation for
when dependent calves are present.
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: March 3, 2010.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-5014 Filed 3-9-10; 8:45 am]
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