Qualifications Permits

OMB No. 0648-0084; Expires xx/xx/xxxx

Qualifications for NMFS Permits
Instructions: Please submit the following qualifications information with your permit application
and upload to your profile on the Authorizations and Permits for Protected Species (APPS)
webpage. There should only be one form per individual. See examples of completed qualifications
by permit type on our website.

Persons authorized as the Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-Investigators (CI) must demonstrate
qualifications commensurate with their duties. If sufficient experience is not provided,
personnel will not be authorized to conduct the proposed activities.
1.

Contact Information

All documentation submitted will be publicly available. DO NOT include personal
information (e.g., social security number, date of birth, home phone).
Name (first, middle initial, last):
Title:

Affiliation:

Business e-mail address:
Business phone number:

2.

Table 1. Relevant Education
Degree

3.

Major/Field of Study

Institution and Location

Year Received

Relevant Experience

A. Table 2. Relevant Professional History
Job Title

Role

Affiliation

1

Location
(City, State,
Country)

Dates
(MM/YYMM/YY)

OMB No. 0648-0084; Expires xx/xx/xxxx

B. Summary of Experience
Please choose Option 1 (Table) OR Option 2 (Biosketch). Delete the option not used.
Option 1- TABLE. In the table below:
1. List all procedures that you are requesting to perform under any NMFS
permit. See Appendix 1 for a list of commonly used procedures (e.g., photo-ID,
biopsy sampling, suction-cup tagging, dart tagging, capture and handling, UAS
pilot).

Do not include procedures for which you have no experience, training or education.
Note you may update your Qualifications Form at any time. Only combine
procedures in the same row for which you have the same experience metrics.

2. Experience Metrics for each procedure:
a) To the best of your ability, estimate the number of animals, how long you have
been performing the procedure(s) (e.g., hours/months/years), by species and
age class.
b) Most recent year performed.
c) Select the level of experience:
Level 1: I have received education/training in performing this procedure,
but have not successfully performed the procedure.
Level 2: I have performed this procedure while under supervision or
training of an expert (e.g., PI, CI, or veterinarian).
Level 3: I have performed this procedure without supervision by a PI/CI.
Level 4: I am considered an expert in performing this procedure, and I have
supervised or trained others in performing this procedure.

Table 3. Summary of Experience.
Procedures

Experience Metrics: Estimated Number of Animals,
Hours/Months/Years, Species, and Age Class

Most Recent
Year
Performed

Level of
Experience

Option 2- BIOSKETCH
Provide a biosketch describing your experience with all procedures that you are
requesting to perform under any NMFS permit. See Appendix 1 for a list of commonly
used procedures (e.g., photo-ID, biopsy sampling, suction-cup tagging, dart tagging,
capture and handling, UAS pilot). To the best of your ability, include experience metrics
to estimate the number of animals by species and age class and how long you have
been performing the procedure (e.g., months/years).
2

OMB No. 0648-0084; Expires xx/xx/xxxx

Avoid vague phrases such as “assisted with,” or “participated in,” which qualify only as
Level 1 experience and will not adequately demonstrate your experience performing
the procedure if you have Level 2 experience or above. You may use the Level 1-4
categories described in Option 1 to supplement the descriptions of your experience.

4.

Relevant Training, Certificates, or Licenses

5.

Relevant Peer-reviewed Publication History (2 pages maximum)

6.

Relevant Reports and Presentations (1 page maximum)

Include additional information to support your qualifications including specialized
training (e.g., intrusive tagging, biopsy sampling, UAS) and certificates or licenses
(e.g., diver certification, Federal Aviation Administration certification) received
relevant to the procedures in Table 3 or your Biosketch. For training, include
description of training, year(s) received, and institution or expert who trained you. For
certificates or licenses, include year received and expiration date. For UAS pilots,
include your total flight hours.
List your relevant publication history to support your qualifications. This list does
not need to be exhaustive, but should demonstrate that you have published and are
reasonably likely to publish in peer-reviewed journals, or make results of permitted
research available. You may provide a link to a webpage or Google scholar list for your
complete publication history.
List other reports or presentations to support your qualifications as described above.

3

OMB No. 0648-0084; Expires xx/xx/xxxx

Appendix 1. Procedures available in APPS, by taxa.
Cetaceans
Acoustic, active
playback/broadcast
Acoustic, passive recording
Acoustic, sonar for prey mapping

Pinnipeds
Acoustic, active playback/broadcast

Sea Turtles
Auditory brainstem response test

Bycatch reduction experiments

Captive, (maintain or research)
Collect, remains for predation
study
Collect, sloughed skin

Administer drug, (IM, IV, IP,
subcutaneous, topical)
Anesthesia, (injectable sedative or
gas [cone, mask, intubation])
Auditory brainstem response test
Bioelectrical impedance
(subcutaneous or surface)
Calipers (skin fold)

Insert ingestible telemeter pill

Cognitive studies

Auditory brainstem response test
Capture

Count/survey
Imaging, thermal

Acoustic, passive recording
Acoustic, sonar for prey mapping

Collect, (molt, scat, spew, urine)

Instrument, bolt/pin

Instrument, external (e.g., VHF,
SLTDR)
Instrument, internal (e.g., PIT)
Mark, (bleach, clip fur, dye/paint,
flipper tag, freeze brand, hot brand,
neoprene patch)
Measure and weigh

Instrument, deep-implant
Instrument, suction-cup
Lavage
Mark, (freeze brand/ roto tag)
Measure and weigh

Captive, lab experiments
Count/survey
Epibiota removal

Imaging (e.g., MRI, CT, CAT, X-Ray)

Captive, maintain
Capture

Instrument, belt/harness
Instrument, dart/barb

Acoustic deterrent device trial
Bioelectrical impedance analysis

Insert stomach telemeter pill
Instrument, drill carapace
attachment
Instrument, epoxy attachment
(e.g., satellite tag, VHF tag)

Instrument, harness attachment

Count/survey

Metabolic chamber/hood
Observation, (mark resight,
monitoring, or behavioral)

Instrument, suction-cup
attachment
Instrument, pygal attachment
Laparoscopy
Lavage

Mark, (PIT tag, carapace, flipper
tag, oxytetracycline injection, or
visual)
Measure and weigh
Orientation research
4

Fishes
Anesthetize (MS-222 or
Electronarcosis)
Borescope
Captive, (breed, maintain, or
public display)
Captive, field studies
Captive, lab experiments

Collect eggs or sperm (wild)
Instrument, external (e.g., VHF,
satellite)
Instrument, internal (e.g., VHF,
sonic)
Laparoscopy
Lavage, gastric

Mark, (Carlin dangler, Floy T-bar,
bovine/DNA, coded wire, dart,
disk anchor, elastomer, or OTC)
Mark, (M-tag, PIT tag, double barb
tag, or roto tag)
Measure and weigh
Necropsy

Photograph/Video
Remote vehicle, aerial fixed wing
or (VTOL)
Remote vehicle, vessel or
amphibious

Salvage (carcass, tissue, or parts)
Sample, blood

Cetaceans
Measure colonic temperature
Metabolic chamber/hood

Observation, behavior or
monitoring
Photograph/Video and PhotoIdentification
Photogrammetry

Remote vehicle, vessel or
amphibious
Remote vehicle, aerial (VTOL or
fixed wing)
Restrain

Sample, swab (anal, blowhole,
oral, or vaginal)
Sample, blood
Sample, biopsy (skin, blubber, or
muscle)
Sample, exhaled air
Sample, biological (milk, urine,
fecal, or sperm)
Sample, tooth extraction

Tracking
Transport
Ultrasound
Underwater photo/videography
X-ray

Pinnipeds
Photograph/Video and PhotoIdentification
Photogrammetry

Sea Turtles
Photograph/Video

Recapture (gear removal)

Remote video monitoring

Remote vehicle, aerial (VTOL or
fixed wing)
Remote vehicle, amphibious or
vessel
Salvage (carcass, tissue, or parts)

Remote vehicle, aerial (VTOL or
fixed wing)
Remote vehicle, amphibious or
vessel
Restrain, (board, cage, hand, or net)

Sample, blood

Salvage (carcass, tissue, parts)

Sample, swab (cloacal, nasal, or
oral)
Sample, biological (fecal, fat, scute,
tissue, or tumor)
Sample, biopsy (bone, muscle,
organ)
Tracking
Transport

Sample, blood

Sample, biopsy (blubber, skin, or
muscle)
Sample, (nail, hair, or vibrissae)
Sample, swab (anal, nasal, ocular,
oral, fecal, or mucus membranes)
Sample, (milk, fecal [enema or
loop], urine, or stomach)
Sample, tooth extraction

Tumor removal
Ultrasound

Serial blood samples (Evans blue,
hormones)
Transport
Ultrasound
Underwater photo/videography
X-ray

5

OMB No. 0648-0084; Expires xx/xx/xxxx

Fishes
Sample, (barbel clip, fin clip, fin
ray, scute, scute spine)
Sample, biopsy (gill, gonads, liver,
or muscle)
Transport
Treatment, prophylactic or
therapeutic
Ultrasound

OMB No. 0648-0084; Expires xx/xx/xxxx

Applicable Laws
This information is required to accompany the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) Section
104 and/or Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 10(a)(1)(A) permit application and is used to
determine whether individuals conducting activities proposed under a requested permit possess
qualifications commensurate with their duties and responsibilities identified in the application (50
CFR §§216.35 and 222.308).
All permit documentation, including the application, qualifications, permit, amendments, reports,
and any other associated documents are considered public information and as such, are subject to
the Freedom of Information Act.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a
person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with an information collection subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 unless the information collection has a currently
valid OMB Control Number. The approved OMB Control Number for this information collection is 06480084. Without this approval, we could not conduct this information collection. Public reporting for this
information collection (i.e., the permit application and qualifications) is estimated to be, per response,
approximately 50 hours for MMPA/ESA scientific research and enhancement permit applications, 20
hours for MMPA/ESA parts permit applications, and 10 hours for MMPA photography permit
applications, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collection. All responses to
this information collection are required to obtain a permit pursuant to, as applicable, the ESA, Fur Seal
Act, MMPA, National Environmental Policy Act, and their implementing regulations. Send comments
regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection, including suggestions
for reducing this burden to the Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources,
F/PR1, NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910;
email [email protected].

6