94-16020. Marine Mammals

[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 126 (Friday, July 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-16020]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: July 1, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 062194H]

 

Marine Mammals

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

ACTION: Receipt of application for a scientific research permit (P8G).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Naval Command Control and 
Ocean Surveillance Center, (Principal Investigators, Donald A. Carder 
and Sam H. Ridgway), RDT&E Division 5107, 49620 Beluga Road, Room 200, 
San Diego, CA 92152, has applied in due form for a permit to take 
several species of large and small cetaceans and sea turtles for 
purposes of scientific research.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 1, 1994.

ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for 
review upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
    Permits Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-
West Highway, Room 13130, Silver Spring, MD 20910 [phone];
    Director, Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, 
MA 01930 [phone];
    Director, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, 
Long Beach, CA 90802-4213 [phone];
    Director, Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive, St. 
Petersburg, FL 33702 [phone];
    Director, Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE., BIN 
C15700, Seattle, WA 98155 [phone]; and
    Director, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-
0070 [phone].
    Written data or views, or requests for a public hearing on this 
application should be submitted to the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries, NMFS, 1335 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 
within 30 days of the publication of this notice. Those individuals 
requesting a hearing should set forth the specific reasons why a 
hearing on this particular application would be appropriate. The 
holding of such a hearing is at the discretion of the Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries.
    Concurrent with the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, the Secretary of Commerce is forwarding copies of this 
application to the Marine Mammal Commission and its Committee of 
Scientific Advisors.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is requested 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), the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the Regulations 
Governing the Taking, Importing, and Exporting of Endangered Species 
and Wildlife (50 CFR part 222).
    The applicant proposes to harass several species of large whales 
and sea turtles, which become accidentally entrapped or stranded in 
U.S. waters, with a low frequency (40 Hz) sound source and to monitor 
the physiological responses of the animals. Additionally, prior to the 
audiometric assessment, the veterinary staff will first assess the 
condition of each animal(s) and provide health care for those animals 
who are ill or injured in order to improve their probability of 
survival following release from stranding or entrapment. The applicant 
is studying the auditory capabilities of cetaceans and sea turtles and 
wishes to obtain audiometric data including the effects of age, illness 
and other factors on hearing, that may be used in assessing the 
potential impact of noise pollution on these species. The study period 
will be from September 1994 to September 1999, and the sample size 
would be a maximum of fifteen of any one species of cetacean and sea 
turtle.

    Dated: June 23, 1994.
Ann D. Terbush,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 94-16020 Filed 6-30-94; 8:45 am]
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