National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
Notice; receipt of application for permit amendment.
Notice is hereby given that James Harvey, Ph.D., Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, 8272 Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing, CA 95039, has applied for an amendment to Scientific Research Permit No. 20430.
Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or before July 26, 2019.
The application and related documents are available for review by selecting “Records Open for Public Comment” from the “Features” box on the Applications and Permits for Protected Species home page,
These documents are also available upon written request or by appointment in the Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301) 427-8401; fax (301) 713-0376.
Written comments on this application should be submitted to the Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, at the address listed above. Comments may also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 713-0376, or by email to
Those individuals requesting a public hearing should submit a written request to the Chief, Permits and Conservation Division at the address listed above. The request should set forth the specific reasons why a hearing on this application would be appropriate.
Shasta McClenahan or Amy Hapeman, (301) 427-8401.
The subject amendment to Permit No. 20430 is requested under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361
Permit No. 20430, issued on March 30, 2017 (82 FR 29053), authorizes the permit holder to conduct research on 12 species of marine mammals in California waters to study their distribution, movement, diet, foraging, and acoustic behaviors. Permitted research activities include passive acoustic recordings, behavioral observations, photography, photo-identification, videography, biological sampling (skin and blubber biopsy or sloughed skin), tagging (suction cup or dart/barb), and tracking. Additionally, a small number of non-target marine mammals may be incidentally harassed during research.
The permit holder is requesting the permit be amended to (1) authorize aerial surveys by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for photography, video recording, and photogrammetry for a new research objective to determine morphometric measurements to better understand reproductive health, growth rates, maneuverability, and energy capacity; (2) increase the number of takes for humpback whales (
In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321
Concurrent with the publication of this notice in the