[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 24 (Friday, February 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 6405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2532]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XY93


Marine Mammals; File No. 15654

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

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that George Church, PhD, Professor of 
Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 
02115, has been issued a permit to conduct research on bowhead whale 
(Balaena mysticetus) parts.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment in the following office:
    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
    Northeast Region, NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930; phone (978) 281-9328; fax (978) 281-9394.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Morse or Amy Sloan, (301) 713-
2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 14, 2010 a notice was published 
in the Federal Register (75 FR 55738) that a request for a permit to 
conduct research on the species identified above had been submitted by 
the above-named applicant. The requested permit has been issued 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, 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 parts 222-226).
    Dr. Church is authorized to receive, analyze and archive parts of 
bowhead whales. Parts will be received from a permitted laboratory 
(Permit No. 1008-1637-02 issued to John Wise, PhD) and maintained at 
Harvard University for the proposed study. Cell lines will be developed 
to sequence the DNA (genome) and RNA (transcriptome). The permit has 
been issued for a five-year period.
    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.

    Dated: January 24, 2011.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-2532 Filed 2-3-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P