95-24054. Taking and Importing of Marine Mammals

[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 188 (Thursday, September 28, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50182-50184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-24054]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 090795A]


Taking and Importing of Marine Mammals

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

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the availability of, and requests comments on 
the draft Marine Mammal Incidental Take Reporting Form in accordance 
with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).

DATES: Comments on the draft reporting form must be received by October 
30, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be mailed to: Chief, Marine Mammal Division, 
Office of Protected Resources (F/PR), NMFS, 1335 East-West Hwy., Silver 
Spring, MD 20910, (fax [phone]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Wanda L. Cain, phone [phone], or fax [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 30, 1995 (60 FR 45086), NMFS 
published a final rule implementing the new management regime for the 
taking of marine mammals incidental to commercial fishing operations 
established by section 118 of the MMPA. That regulation requires 
commercial fishers to report to NMFS the incidental mortality and 
injury of marine mammals in the course of commercial fishing within 48 
hours of the end of each fishing trip, or, for non-vessel fisheries, 
within 48 hours of an occurrence of an incidental mortality or injury. 
The preamble to that rule also stated that NMFS would publish a draft 
of the reporting form for public comment.
    Section 118(e) of the MMPA requires that the owner or operator of a 
commercial fishing vessel report all incidental mortality and injury of 
marine mammals in the course of commercial fishing operations to NMFS 
by mail or other means acceptable to NMFS within 48 hours after the end 
of each fishing trip on a standard postage-paid form. The form must be 
capable of being readily entered into and usable by an automated or 
computerized data processing system. The information required to be 
provided by vessel owners or operators is: (1) The vessel name, and 
Federal, state, or tribal registration numbers of the registered 
vessel; (2) the name and address of the vessel owner or operator; (3) 
the name and description of the fishery; and, (4) the species of each 
marine mammal incidentally killed or injured, and the date, time, and 
approximate geographic location of such occurrence.
    NMFS has developed a two-sided reporting form to allow fishers to 
provide the information required by the MMPA. The form is designed to 
be folded when completed, sealed to preserve confidentiality, and 
mailed, postage paid, to NMFS (Figs. A & B). This form contains 
collection-of-information requirements subject to the provisions of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act. This collection has been approved by OMB under 
OMB control number 0648-0292.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq., unless otherwise noted.

    Dated: September 21, 1995.
Patricia Montanio,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

Instructions for Completing This Reporting Form

1  Last Name--Enter the first 10 characters of your last name.
2  First Name--Enter the first 10 characters of your first name.
3  MI--Enter your middle initial.
4  Address--Enter your street address or P.O. Box number.
5  City--Enter the first 15 characters of your city name.
6  State--Enter the 2-digit state code.
7  ZIP--Enter your zip code.
8  Vessel Name--Enter the first 24 characters of your vessel name.
9  Vessel State Registration Number--Enter the vessel's State 
registration number up to 24 characters.
10  MMPA Authorization Number--Enter the MMPA Authorization Number. 
Category I & II fisheries only. Category III fisheries will not have an 
MMPA authorization number, but are still required to make mortality/
injury reports.
11  Fishery Code--Enter the fishery code for your fishery.
12  Target Species--If the name of your fishery as listed in the 
current list-of-fisheries does not identify your target species, please 
Print your target species.
13  Date of Interaction--Enter the date the interaction occurred. 
Example: January 1, 1996 is entered as 960101.
14  Time of Interaction--Enter the time of day the interaction 
occurred.
15  AM or PM--Enter a.m. if time was between midnight & noon, or p.m. 
if the take occurred at noon or before midnight.
16  Latitude--Use standard entries in degrees and minutes.
17  Longitude--Use standard entries in degrees and minutes.
18  Species--Enter the species code from the status of stocks.
19  Take Type--Enter type of take from codes on reporting form.
20  Number--Enter the number of animals involved in each take type. You 
may enter additional species or different types of take in Items 21-23 
and 24-26.
27  Description of Unknown Species--If you have entered a species code 
for an unknown species, Please Print a description of the animal 
involved. State whether cetacean or pinniped.

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[FR Doc. 95-24054 Filed 9-27-95; 8:45 am]
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