# Marine Mammals; File No. 10080
**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. Kathryn A. Ono, Department of Biological Sciences, University of New England, Biddeford, ME has been issued a major amendment to Permit No. 10080-02.
**ADDRESSES:**
The permit 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
Northeast Region, NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930; phone (978)281-9300; fax (978) 281-9333.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Tammy Adams or Kate Swails, (301)713-2289.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
On October 27, 2008, notice was published in the *Federal Register* (73 FR 63697) that a request for an amendment Permit No. 10080-02, to conduct research on gray seals ( *Halichoerus grypus* ) in the Gulf of Maine, had been submitted by the above-named applicant. The requested permit amendment has been issued 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).
The amended permit includes authorization to: (1) remotely mark the pelage of adult gray seals of both sexes (200 per year) using the various dyes and paints already permitted for use on pups; (2) use an additional type of marking agent, an alcohol based- dye (Rhodamine B 500%), on pups and adults; (3) disturb an additional 400 non-target gray seals per year during the additional marking activities; and (4) disturb an additional 300 gray seals annually during field camp operations associated with conduct of the research. The amendment also authorizes the incidental research-related mortality of up to four gray seal pups annually.
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: December 17, 2008.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.