[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 13, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 58168]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-28952]
[[Page 58168]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 102996C]
Incidental Take of Marine Mammals; Bottlenose Dolphins and
Spotted Dolphins
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of issuance of letters of authorization.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as
amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given
that letters of authorization to take bottlenose and spotted dolphins
incidental to oil and gas structure removal activities were issued to
Parker & Parsley Petroleum USA, Inc., 555 N. Carancahua, Corpus
Christi, TX 78478 on October 17, 1996; Amoco Production Company, P.O.
Box 50879, New Orleans, LA 70150 on October 24, 1996; and Oryx Energy
Company, P.O. Box 2880, Dallas, Texas 75221-2880 on November 6, 1996.
ADDRESSES: The application and letter are available for review in the
following offices: Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West
Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and the Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721
Executive Center Drive N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth R. Hollingshead, Office of
Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 713-2055 or Charles Oravetz, Southeast
Region (813) 570-5312.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) directs
NMFS to allow, on request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking
of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a
specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified
geographical region, if certain findings are made and regulations are
issued. Under the MMPA, the term ``taking'' means to harass, hunt,
capture, or kill or to attempt to harass, hunt, capture or kill marine
mammals.
Permission may be granted for periods up to 5 years if NMFS finds,
after notification and opportunity for public comment, that the taking
will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) of marine
mammals and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for subsistence uses. In
addition, NMFS must prescribe regulations that include permissible
methods of taking and other means effecting the least practicable
adverse impact on the species and its habitat, and on the availability
of the species for subsistence uses, paying particular attention to
rookeries, mating grounds and areas of similar significance. The
regulations must include requirements pertaining to the monitoring and
reporting of such taking. Regulations governing the taking of
bottlenose and spotted dolphins incidental to oil and gas structure
removal activities in the Gulf of Mexico were published on October 12,
1995 (60 FR 53139) and remain in effect until November 13, 2000.
Summary of Request
NMFS received requests for letters of authorization on October 15,
1996, from Parker & Parsley Petroleum USA, and on October 23, 1996,
from Amoco Production Company and the Oryx Energy Company. These
letters requested a take by harassment of a small number of bottlenose
and spotted dolphins incidental to the described activity. Issuance of
these letters of authorization are based on a finding that the total
takings will have a negligible impact on the bottlenose and spotted
dolphin stocks of the Gulf of Mexico.
Dated: November 6, 1996.
Patricia Montanio,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-28952 Filed 11-12-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
