2011-13712. Marine Mammals; File No. 14329

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice; issuance of permit amendment.

SUMMARY:

Notice is hereby given that a major amendment to Permit No. 14329 has been issued to the North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium (NPUMMRC), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC., Canada.

ADDRESSES:

The permit amendment 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].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tammy Adams or Amy Sloan, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On April 18, 2011, notice was published in the Federal Register (76 FR 21703) that a request for an amendment to Permit No. 14329 to conduct research on northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) had been submitted by the above-named applicant. The requested permit amendment has been issued under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 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), and the Fur Seal Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.).

The amendment adds authorization for additional sampling and instrument attachment for lactating female fur seals already authorized for capture, and serial recaptures of their pups following suckling to take morphometric measurement and assess energy transfer. The amendment is valid through the expiration date of the permit, August 31, 2014.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), NMFS has determined that the activities proposed are consistent with the Preferred Alternative in the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Steller Sea Lion and Northern Fur Seal Research (NMFS 2007), and that issuance of the permit would not have a significant adverse impact on the human environment.

Dated: May 26, 2011.

P. Michael Payne,

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