# Marine Mammals; File No. 984-1814-01
**AGENCY:**
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
**ACTION:**
Notice; issuance of permit amendment.
**SUMMARY:**
Notice is hereby given that Dr. Terrie Williams, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Center for Ocean Health - Long Marine Laboratory, University of California, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060 has been issued an amendment to scientific research Permit No. 984-1814.
**ADDRESSES:**
The amendment and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment in the following office(s):
Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301)713-2289; fax (301)427-2521; and
Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213; phone (562)980-4001; fax (562)980-4018.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Kate Swails or Tammy Adams, (301)713-2289.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
On February 15, 2007, notice was published in the *Federal Register* (72 FR 7419) that an amendment of Permit No. 984-1814, issued June 21, 2006 ( 71 FR 37060), had been requested by the above-named individual. 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 regulations governing the taking and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216).
Permit No. 984-1814 authorized the permit holder to capture up to 20 adult Weddell seals ( *Leptonychotes weddellii* ) and disturb up to 30 adult and 10 juvenile seals annually in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. The animals have a data logger/video system attached, muscle biopsies and blood samples collected, and blubber thickness measured. The permit also authorizes up to 3 research-related mortalities per year. The amendment changes the field season for this project from five August to December field seasons over 5 years to three back to back field seasons over the course of two research years. Researchers will capture 50 Weddell seals annually for 2 years instead of 20 annually over the course of 5 years. Researchers will attach data logger/video systems to 24 adult seals and another 24 seals will have time-depth recorders attached annually. Researchers will measure metabolic rates of all captured seals using open-flow respirometry.
In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 *et seq.* ), a final determination has been made that the activity proposed is categorically excluded from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.
Dated: April 5, 2007.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.