2022-26780. Marine Mammals and Endangered Species

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice; issuance of permits and permit amendments.

SUMMARY:

Notice is hereby given that permits and permit amendments have been issued to the following entities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as applicable.

ADDRESSES:

The permits and related documents are available for review upon written request via email to [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shasta McClenahan, Ph.D., (Permit Nos. 21585-02 and 26696), Amy Hapeman (Permit No. 26226), and Carrie Hubard (Permit Nos. 25754 and Permit No. 26562); at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notices were published in the Federal Register on the dates listed below that requests for a permit or permit amendment had been submitted by the below-named applicants. To locate the Federal Register notice that announced our receipt of the application and a complete description of the activities, go to www.federalregister.gov and search on the permit number provided in Table 1 below.

Table 1—Issued Permits and Permit Amendments

Permit No.	RTID	Applicant	Previous Federal Register notice	Issuance date
21585-02	0648-XC011	Oregon State University, Marine Mammal Institute, 2030 Southeast Marine Science Drive, Newport, OR 97365 (Responsible Party: Lisa Ballance, Ph.D.)	87 FR 27989, May 10, 2022	November 14, 2022.
25754	0648-XC036	NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 1845 Wasp Boulevard, Building 176, Honolulu, HI 96818 (Responsible Party: Charles Littnan, Ph.D.)	87 FR 31210, May 23, 2022	November 16, 2022.
26226	0648-XC363	Robert DiGiovanni, Jr., Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, P.O. Box 932, Hampton Bays, NY 11946	87 FR 56001, September 13, 2022	November 10, 2022.
26562	0648-XC233	James Hain, Ph.D., Associated Scientists at Woods Hole, Box 721, Woods Hole, MA 02543	87 FR 48471, August 9, 2022	November 9, 2022.
26696	0648-XC418	Dennis Clegg, Ph.D., University of California at Santa Barbara, Neuroscience Research Institute, Mail Code 5060, Santa Barbara, CA 93106	87 FR 60126, October 4, 2022	November 22, 2022.

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 activities proposed are categorically excluded from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.

As required by the ESA, as applicable, issuance of these permit was based on a finding that such permits: (1) were applied for in good faith; (2) will not operate to the disadvantage of such endangered species; and (3) are consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in Section 2 of the ESA.

Authority: The requested permits have been issued under the MMPA 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 ESA of 1973, as amended (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), as applicable.

Dated: December 5, 2022.

Amy C. Sloan,

Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.