2024-10217. 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:

Courtney Smith, Ph.D. (Permit Nos. 27099-01 and 27424), Malcolm Mohead (Permit No. 27671), and Shasta McClenahan, Ph.D. (Permit Nos. 27548, 27921, and 27938), 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 https://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
27099-01	0648-XC782	Pacific Whale Foundation, 300 Ma'alaea Road, Suite 211, Wailuku, HI 96793 (Responsible Party: Jens Curie)	89 FR 1908, January 11, 2024	April 26, 2024.
27424	0648-XD4063	Point Blue Conservation Science, 3820 Cypress Drive No. 11, Petaluma, CA 94954 (Responsible Party: Grant Ballard, Ph.D.)	88 FR 66815, September 28, 2023	April 22, 2024.
27548	0648-XD804	Lars Bejder, Ph.D., University of Hawaii at Manoa, 46-007 Lilipuna Road, Kaneohe, HI 96744	89 FR 18906, March 15, 2024	April 30, 2024.
27671	0648-XD796	Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Marine Forensic Laboratory, 2725 Montlake Blvd. East, Seattle, WA 98112 (Responsible Party: Kevin Werner, Ph.D.)	89 FR 18397, March 13, 2024	April 26, 2024.
27921	0648-XD805	Joshua Schiffman, M.D., University of Utah, 2000 Circle Of Hope Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84112	89 FR 18906, March 15, 2024	April 30, 2024.
27938	0648-XD793	BBC Studios, Ltd., Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS8 2LR, UK (Responsible Party: Emily-Kate Moorhead)	89 FR 18378, March 13, 2024	April 30, 2024.

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 permits 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: May 7, 2024.

Julia M. Harrison,

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