[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 236 (Thursday, December 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76704-76705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31005]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA077


Endangered Species; File Nos. 13307, 13544, and 14586

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Issuance of permit and permit modifications.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued a permit and two 
permit modifications to take sea turtles and marine mammals for 
purposes of scientific research.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
    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) 713-0376; and Southeast Region, 
NMFS, 263 13th Ave South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701; phone (727) 824-
5312; fax (727) 824-5309.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Hapeman or Amy Sloan, (301) 713-
2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 3, 2010, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (75 FR 9580) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take sea turtles and marine mammals had been 
submitted by Jeanette Wyneken, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, 
FL (File No. 14586). On March 3, 2010, notice was published in the 
Federal Register (75 FR 9580) that a modification of Permit No. 13544, 
issued April 17, 2009 (74 FR 18354), had been requested by Jeffrey 
Schmid, PhD, Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Naples, FL, for sea 
turtle research. On April 1, 2010, notice was published in the Federal 
Register (75 FR 16428) that a modification of Permit No. 13307-01, 
issued July 11, 2008 (73 FR 39950), had been requested by Kristen Hart, 
PhD, USGS, Davie, L, for sea turtle research. The requested permit and 
permit modifications have been issued under the authority of the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.), the regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting 
of endangered and threatened species (50 CFR parts 222-226); and, for 
Permit No. 14586, 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. 14586 authorizes the permit holder to annually collect 
baseline data regarding the abundance and distribution of cetaceans 
[numerous non-listed species and endangered fin (Balaenoptera 
physalus), sperm (Physeter macrocephalus), humpback (Megaptera 
novaengliae), and North Atlantic right (Eubalaena glacialis) whales] 
and sea turtles [leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), loggerhead 
(Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys 
imbricata), and Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii)] in the Straits of 
Florida off Florida's southeast coast. Research is authorized to occur 
before, during, and after ocean energy technology testing via vessel 
and aerial surveys. The permit expires on November 30, 2015.

[[Page 76705]]

    Permit No. 13544 authorizes the permit holder to characterize the 
aggregations of Kemp's ridley, loggerhead, green, and hawksbill sea 
turtles in the nearshore waters of Lee County in southwest Florida by 
annually performing capture, weighing, passive integrated transponder 
(PIT) tagging, biopsy sampling; and for subsets of animals, fecal 
sampling and external tagging). The modified permit authorizes 
researchers to additionally satellite tag a subset of Kemp's ridley and 
loggerhead sea turtles to determine their seasonal distribution and 
possible migrations in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. The permit 
modification is valid until the permit expires on April 30, 2014.
    Permit No. 13307-01 authorizes the permit holder to addresses fine-
scale temporal and spatial patterns of sea turtle habitat use, ecology, 
and genetic origin within the Dry Tortugas National Park by annually 
capturing, weighing, flipper tagging, PIT tagging, and sampling (blood, 
tissue, feces, and lavage) green, hawksbill, and loggerhead sea 
turtles, a subset of which may be externally tagged with satellite and 
acoustic transmitters. The permit modification increases the number of 
green sea turtles that may be captured to 80 per year due to the high 
rate of recent capture success. The modification is valid until the 
permit expires on June 30, 2013.
    Issuance of these permits, as required by the ESA, was based on a 
finding that such permits (1) Were applied for in good faith, (2) will 
not operate to the disadvantage of such endangered or threatened 
species, and (3) are consistent with the purposes and policies set 
forth in section 2 of the ESA.

    Dated: December 3, 2010.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-31005 Filed 12-8-10; 8:45 am]
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