# Marine Mammals; File No. 16685
**AGENCY:**
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
**ACTION:**
Notice; issuance of permit.
**SUMMARY:**
Notice is hereby given that a permit has been issued to Thomas A. Jefferson, Ph.D., Clymene Enterprises, 5495 Camino Playa Malaga, San Diego, CA 92124 to conduct research on nine cetacean species off the California coast.
**ADDRESSES:**
The permit and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
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; 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:**
Laura Morse or Carrie Hubard, (301) 427-8401.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
On October 24, 2011, notice was published in the *Federal Register* (76 FR 65697) that a request for a permit to conduct research on nine cetacean species off of the California coast had been submitted by the above-named applicant. The requested permit 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 permit authorizes photo-identification, behavioral studies and biopsy sampling of bottlenose ( *Tursiops truncatus* ), Risso's ( *Grampus griseus* ), short-beaked common ( *Delphinus delphis* ), long-beaked common ( *D. capensis* ), Pacific white-sided ( *Lagenorhynchus obliquidens* ), and northern right whale dolphins ( *Lissodelphis borealis* ); killer whale ( *Orcinus orca,* excluding Southern resident stock); Dall's porpoise ( *Phocoenoides dalli* ) and harbor porpoise ( *Phocoena phocoena* ) along the California coast. The permit expires on January 1, 2017.
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 22, 2011.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.