81 FR 62542 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 175 (September 9, 2016)

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at title 45 part 670 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 175 (Friday, September 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62542-62543]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21668]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic 
Conservation Act of 1978

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice of permit applications received under the Antarctic 
Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a 
notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated 
under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published 
regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at title 45 part 670 
of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of 
permit applications received.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit written data, comments, 
or views with respect to this permit application by October 11, 2016. 
This application may be inspected by interested parties at the Permit 
Office, address below.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Permit Office, Room 755, 
Division of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson 
Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nature McGinn, ACA Permit Officer, at 
the above address or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Science Foundation, as directed 
by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended 
by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, has 
developed regulations for the establishment of a permit system for 
various activities in Antarctica and designation of certain animals and 
certain geographic areas a requiring special protection. The 
regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic 
Specially Protected Areas.

Application Details

Permit Application: 2017-012

Applicant: Dr. George Watters, Director, AMLR Program, Southwest 
Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 8901 La 
Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037.
Activity for Which Permit Is Requested
    Take, Harmful Interference, Enter Antarctic Specially Protected 
Areas, Import into USA. This permit application pertains to research 
activities conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration's (NOAA) Antarctic Marine Living Resources (AMLR) 
Program. The U.S. AMLR Program proposes to take pinniped species in the 
Antarctic Peninsula region, primarily at Cape Shirreff, Livingston 
Island, as part of a long-term ecosystem monitoring program established 
in 1986. Permission is requested to take Antarctic fur seals 
(Arctocephalus gazelle; 1203 adult/juvenile; 6005 pups), southern 
elephant seals (Mirounga leonine; 102 adult/juvenile; 102 pups), 
crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophaga; census only), leopard seals 
(Hydrurga leptonyx; 202 adult/juvenile), Ross seals (Ommatophoca 
rossii; census only), and Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii; 62 
adult/juvenile; 42 pups) by harassment associated with life-history 
studies and surveys to census or estimate abundance and distribution of 
pinnipeds. Specific take activities include capture/handling/release of 
animals for studies of attendance behavior (radio transmitter (VHF)), 
diving (time-depth recorders; TDRs), at-sea foraging locations 
(platform terminal transmitter (PTT), geo-location light loggers (GLS), 
or global positioning system (GPS) instruments), energetics (doubly-
labeled water studies using stable and or radio-isotopes), diet 
(including enema, milk collection for fatty acid signature analysis, or 
tissues for stable isotope analysis), age determination (post-canine 
tooth extraction), pathology (blood collection), and population 
dynamics (tagging). The U.S. AMLR Program does not plan any lethal 
take; however, accidental mortality as a direct result of the studies 
is possible and thus included as part of this application. All methods 
to be used in the conduct of the proposed studies have been used 
extensively by U.S. AMLR researchers and the marine mammal research 
community, generally. All studies of foraging ecology, population 
dynamics, mark-recapture, census, reproductive success and energetics 
are part of a long-term monitoring effort coordinated with other 
Antarctic treaty nations under the auspices of Convention for the 
Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
    The U.S. AMLR Program also proposes continue studies of the 
behavioral ecology and population biology of the Ad[eacute]lie, gentoo, 
and chinstrap penguins, as well as interactions among these species and 
their principal avian predators (skuas, gulls, sheathbills and giant 
petrels). These studies make use of permanent marks (including flipper 
banding, pit tagging, and genetic markers) to identify individuals and 
track them accurately over time. The applicant will continue to study 
penguins' foraging habits, involving the use of VHF, PTT, GPS, TDRs and 
GLS tags. These instruments may be deployed on adults of all species at 
any time during the breeding season and on chicks of all species during 
the fledging period. Another component of the foraging behavior studies 
will involve diet collections using the wet offloading technique. The 
applicant plans to stomach lavage adult penguins at each site. The 
applicant will also collect data on egg sizes and adult weights of each 
species and weigh and measure chicks at cr[egrave]che age (ca. 21 days 
of age) and fledging for comparative annual growth indices in all 
species. In addition, penguin uropygial gland oil may be collected for 
contaminant studies and unhatched penguin eggs may be collected for 
lipid analysis. Empty egg shells and feathers (breast and tail) may 
also be collected for isotopic and genetic studies. Morphometric 
information to be recorded includes bill (culmen) depth and length and 
tarsus length. These measurements are usually taken during tag 
deployment, diet collection, or

[[Page 62543]]

banding. The principal avian predators of the penguins (skuas, gulls, 
giant petrels and sheathbills) are also monitored and, when possible, 
adults and chicks will be banded, weighed and measured for behavioral 
and demographic studies. In addition, the applicant may census, band 
and measure cape petrels and blue-eyed shags. The applicant may collect 
samples of penguin and skua blood from adults of each species. The 
number of takes per annum of each avian species will be as follows: 
chinstrap penguin, 3320; Adelie penguin, 2880; Gentoo penguin, 3020; 
brown skua, 600; south polar skua, 600; giant petrel, 600; kelp gull, 
100; blue-eyed shag, 150; snowy sheathbill, 45; cape petrel, 200. All 
sampling protocols involve techniques that are standard within the 
seabird community. Those protocols related to the CCAMLR Ecosystem 
Monitoring Program (CEMP) are described by CCAMLR.
    The U.S. AMLR Program requests permission to conduct extensive 
studies at the Cape Shirreff and Copacabana research sites. 
Additionally, the Program anticipates conducting intermittent 
peninsula-wide pinniped and seabird surveys. As such, the applicant 
requests access to all ASPAs in the South Shetland Islands and in the 
Antarctic Peninsula. Entry to sites will be made via U.S. AMLR charter 
or NSF vessels, with immediate access via zodiac operations. Peninsula-
wide pinniped and seabird surveys may include the use of unmanned 
aerial vehicles and photogrammetry. U.S. AMLR researchers will adhere 
to ASPA protections at all times and plan all activities to minimize 
disruption to flora and fauna. All species, pinniped and avian, are 
subject to harmful interference due to census (aerial or ground) and 
other work described in this application.
Location
    Antarctic Peninsula region, South Shetland Islands vicinity: Cape 
Shirreff, Livingston Island; San Telmo Islands; Copacabana, western 
shore of Admiralty Bay; and Lions Rump, King George Island.

ASPA 108, Green Island, Berthelot Islands, Antarctic Peninsula
ASPA 112, Coppermine Peninsula, Robert Island
ASPA 113, Litchfield Island, Arthur Harbor, Palmer Archipelago
ASPA 125, Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, South Shetland Islands
ASPA 126, Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands
ASPA 128, Western Shore of Admiralty Bay, King George Island
ASPA 132, Potter Peninsula, King George Island, South Shetland Islands
ASPA 133, Harmony Point, Nelson Island, South Shetland Island
ASPA 134, Cierva Point Offshore Islands, Danco Coast, Antarctic 
Peninsula
ASPA 139, Biscoe Point, Anvers Island
ASPA 140, Shores of Port Foster, Deception Island, South Shetland 
Islands
ASPA 144, Chile Bay
ASPA 145, Port Foster, Deception Island, South Shetland Islands
ASPA 146, South Bay, Doumer Island, Palmer Archipelago
ASPA 148, Mount Flora, Hope Bay, Antarctic Peninsula
ASPA 149, Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands
ASPA 150, Ardley Island, Maxwell Bay, King George Island, South 
Shetland Islands
ASPA 151, Lions Rump, King George Island, South Shetland Islands
ASPA 152, Western Bransfield Strait, Antarctic Peninsula
ASPA 153, East Dallmann Bay, Antarctic Peninsula
ASPA 171, Narebski Point, Barton Peninsula, King George Island

    Dates: October 1, 2016-July 30, 2021
Nadene G. Kennedy,
Polar Coordination Specialist, Division of Polar Programs.
[FR Doc. 2016-21668 Filed 9-8-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7555-01-P