Permits: Marine mammals,

[Federal Register: October 8, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 195)]

[Notices]

[Page 54112-54113]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr08oc98-39]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 091698A]

Marine Mammals; Permit No. 960 (File No. 77-3#54)

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

ACTION: Issuance of permit amendment.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FL 33149 has been issued an amendment to scientific research permit No. 960 (File No. 77-3#54).

ADDRESSES: The amendment and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment in the following office(s):

Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/ 713-2289);

Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298 (978/281- 9250); and

Regional Administrator, Southeast Region, National Marine Fisheries

[[Page 54113]]

Service, NOAA, 9721 Executive Center Drive North, St. Petersburg, FL 33702-2432 (813/570-5301).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Shapiro or Ruth Johnson, 301/713- 2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 6, 1998, notice was published in the Federal Register (63 FR 42010) that an amendment of Permit No. 960, issued June 13, 1995 (60 FR 31214), had been requested by the above- named organization. The requested amendment has been granted under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the provisions of Sec. 216.39 of the Regulations Governing the Taking and Importing of Marine Mammals (50 CFR part 216).

Permit No. 960 authorizes the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, to capture, sample, mark and release up to 100 Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) annually in the near-shore and inshore waters from Virginia to Texas.

This amendment now authorizes the Holder to: (1) extend the geographic range of research activities to include the entire summer range of the depleted coastal migratory stock of bottlenose dolphins by including the coasts of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey; (2) use satellite telemetry and different attachment packages for VHF transmitters and increase the number of animals that may be radio and satellite tagged annually from 20 to 60; and (3) include hoop netting as an alternative capture method.

Dated: September 22, 1998. Ann D. Terbush, Chief, Permits and Documentation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98-27057Filed10-7-98; 8:45 am]

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