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 Acropora palmata thicket on Mona Island, Puerto Rico. Andy Bruckner, 1996Coho salmon painting, Canadian Dept of Fisheries and OceansMonk seal, C.E. BowlbyHumpback whale, Dr. Lou Herman
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Marine Mammal Permit Regulations Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Overview
NMFS published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) in the Federal Register (72 FR 52339, September 13, 2007) proposing changes to implementing regulations (50 CFR 216, Subpart D) governing the issuance of permits under Section 104 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and solicited public input on the proposed changes or any other changes commenters deemed appropriate. These regulations govern issuance of scientific research and enhancement permits for marine mammals, including threatened and endangered species. These regulations also cover the General Authorization for research, photography permits, and public display permits.

Comments

The comment period (72 FR 58279) closed on December 13, 2007. We will take these public comments into consideration in drafting a proposed rule.

References

Background
On May 10, 1996, a final rule was published establishing requirements for issuing permits and authorizations to take, import, or export marine mammals (including endangered and threatened marine mammals) and marine mammal parts under NMFS jurisdiction for purposes of scientific research and enhancement, photography, and public display.

The ANPR published on September 13, 2007 solicited input from the public on specific recommended changes to the regulations (see below) and how NMFS can streamline, clarify, or change sections of these regulations to improve the process for obtaining a permit (see 50 CFR Subpart D-Special Exceptions, sections 216.30-216.45). We also considered recommendations regarding changes to any of the sections of 50 CFR part 216 prior to proposed rulemaking. These regulations are available at the links above.

Specific recommended changes proposed in the ANPR included the following:

  • Changing requirements regarding National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) determinations such that NEPA documentation is not required at the time an application is made available for public review and comment.
  • Allowing only minor amendments to original permits, not major vs. minor as currently exists; any proposed change such as an increased level of take would require a new permit since the regulatory process for issuing a major amendment is currently consistent with processing a new application.
  • Applying the General Authorization (GA) to research activities involving Level A harassment of non-ESA listed marine mammals; currently the GA only applies to research activities that result in Level B harassment.
  • Implementing a "permit application cycle" for application submission and processing of all marine mammal permits;
  • Consolidating sections of the regulations that pertain to the transfer of marine mammal parts (including those taken from non-listed stranded animals and those taken under permit from both listed and non-listed marine mammals) to provide consistency and eliminate confusion in interpretation.
  • Adding provisions for long-term captive maintenance of non-releasable ESA-listed marine mammals.
  • Writing regulations for photography permits such that it would be similar to the GA process.

More Information
For further information, please contact Michael Payne (Michael.Payne@noaa.gov) or Amy Sloan (Amy.Sloan@noaa.gov) by email or at (301) 713-2289.
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