04-13316. Marine Mammals; File No. 1069-1756

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Receipt of application.

SUMMARY:

Notice is hereby given that Dr. Charles W. Powers, The Institute for Responsible Management/CRESP, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 675 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ, has applied for a permit to conduct scientific research on marine mammals.

DATES:

Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or before July 14, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

The application and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:

Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone [phone]; fax [phone]; and

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668; phone [phone]; fax [phone].

Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this application should be mailed to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 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 [phone], provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period.

Additionally, comments may be submitted by e-mail. The mailbox address for providing email comments is [e-mail]. Include File No. 1069-1756 as a document identifier in the subject line of the e-mail comment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. Tammy Adams or Amy Sloan, [phone].

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.), and the Regulations Governing the Taking and Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216).

The applicant requests a permit for the intentional lethal take of 20 harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in Alaska to determine the extent of radionuclide release from Amchitka Island and investigate levels of radionuclides in selected tissues of marine mammals from Amchitka Island and a reference site to be determined.

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.

Dated: June 8, 2004.

Stephen L. Leathery,

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