Marine Mammals; File No. 932-1489

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[I.D. 030399C]

Marine Mammals; File No. 932-1489

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce and Office of Management

Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Interior.

ACTION: Receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that The National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), Office of Protected Resources (OPR), Marine Mammal

Health and Stranding Response Program, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver

Spring, MD 20910 has applied in due form for a permit to take various

marine mammal species for scientific research and enhancement.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments must be received on or before

April 26, 1999.

ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for

review upon written request or by appointment, see ``Address

Information'' under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this

application should be mailed to the Chief, Permits and Documentation

Division, F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West

Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals

requesting a hearing should set forth the specific reasons why a

hearing on this particular request would be appropriate.

Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301) 713-0376,

provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and

postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period. Please

note that comments will not be accepted by e-mail or by other

electronic media.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Shapiro or Ruth Johnson, 301/713-

2289.

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.), 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.), the

regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of

endangered fish and wildlife (50 CFR 222.23), and the Fur Seal Act of

1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.).

NMFS/OPR/MMHSRP (File No. 932-1489) requests authorization to

oversee the collecting, preserving, labeling, and transporting of all

species of marine mammal cadavers or tissue and fluid samples for

physical, chemical, or biological analyses, import, and export, and the

taking of stranded or distressed endangered or threatened marine

mammals, and the salvage of specimens from dead threatened or

endangered marine mammals. The animals for which they are requesting

authorization include all species of the Orders Cetacea, Pinnipedia,

Sirenia, and polar bears (Ursus maritimus), sea otters (Enhydra

lutris), and marine otters (Lontra felina).

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 this application to the Marine

Mammal Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors.

Address Information

The application and related documents are available for review upon

written request or by appointment in the following office(s):

Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected Resources,

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/

713-2289);

Regional Administrator, Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries

Service, NOAA, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-

4213 (562/980-4001);

Regional Administrator, Alaska Region, National Marine Fisheries

Service, NOAA, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668 (907/586-7221);

Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, National Marine Fisheries

Service, NOAA, One Blackburn Dr., Gloucester, MA 01930-2298 (978/281-

9250);

Regional Administrator, Southeast Region, National Marine Fisheries

Service, NOAA, 9721 Executive Center Drive North, St. Petersburg, FL

33702-2432 (727/570-5301);

Regional Administrator, Northwest Region, National Marine Fisheries

Service, NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way, BIN C15700, Bldg. 1, Seattle, WA

98115-0020(206/526-6150); and

Coordinator, Pacific Area Office, National Marine Fisheries

Service, NOAA, 2570 Dole St., Room 106, Honolulu, HI 96822-2396 (808/

943-1221).

Dated: March 3, 1999.

Ann D. Terbush,

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.

Dated: March 18, 1999.

Margaret Tieger,

Chief, Branch of Permits, Office of Management Authority, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 99-7347 Filed 3-24-99; 8:45 am]

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