[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 10, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65028-65029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-31354]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[I.D. 112696A]
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 1-year letters of authorization to take bottlenose and spotted
dolphins incidental to oil and gas structure removal activities were
issued on December 4, 1996, to Ensearch Exploration Inc., 4849
Greenville Ave., Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas, 75206-4186; the Tennessee
Gas Pipeline Co., 1010 Milam Street, Houston, TX 77252; and the Stone
Petroleum Corporation, P.O. Box 52807, Lafayette, LA 70505.
ADDRESSES: The applications and letters 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
[[Page 65029]]
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 November 4,
1996, from Ensearch Exploration, Inc.; on November 14, 1996, from the
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co; and on December 3, 1996 from the Stone
Petroleum Corporation. 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 is 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: December 5, 1996.
Michael Payne,
Chief, Marine Mammal Division, Office of Protected Resources, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-31354 Filed 12-9-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
