[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11132-11133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5144]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XT21
Marine Mammals; File No. 555-1870
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
[[Page 11133]]
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit amendment.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that James T. Harvey, Ph.D., Moss
Landing Marine Laboratories, 8272 Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing, CA
95039, has been issued a major amendment to Permit No. 555-1870-00.
ADDRESSES: The permit amendment and related documents are available
for review upon written request or by appointment in the following
offices:
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Sloan or Tammy Adams, (301)713-
2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 8, 2009, notice was published in
the Federal Register (74 FR 64686) that a request for an amendment to
Permit No. 555-1870-00 to conduct research on harbor seals (Phoca
vitulina) had been submitted by the above-named applicant. One project
in the requested permit amendment (increasing the number of animals
taken in the wild) has been issued and another project in the requested
amendment (temporary captivity of wild seals) has been denied under the
authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and the regulations governing the taking and
importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216).
The permit amendment (Permit No. 555-1870-01) authorizes an
increase in the number of harbor seal pups taken annually in California
by capture, sedation, tagging, and sampling from 40 seals (20 males and
20 females) to 70 seals (35 males and 35 females). The request to bring
up to six seals into temporary captivity for a pilot study to assess
the efficacy of a modified sedation protocol for the surgical
implantation of subcutaneous tag implants was denied. The facility
proposed did not meet minimum standards for space as required by Animal
Welfare Act regulations for the humane handling, care and treatment of
marine mammals. Therefore, the applicant could not demonstrate that the
activity proposed was humane and did not present any unnecessary risks
to the health and welfare of the marine mammals (50 CFR 216.34(1)(a)).
In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), a final determination has been made that the
activity proposed is categorically excluded from the requirement to
prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.
Dated: February 24, 2010.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-5144 Filed 3-9-10; 8:45 am]
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