[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 100 (Thursday, May 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 29132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-9961]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA42


Endangered Species; File No. 1604

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

ACTION:  Issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (Dr. Chester Figiel, Principal Investigator), 5308 Spring 
Street, Warm Springs, GA 31830, has been issued a permit to take 
captive shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for purposes of 
enhancement and 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)427-2521; and
    Protected Resources Division, Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th 
Avenue South,St. Petersburg, FL 33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 
824-5309.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Malcolm Mohead, or Jennifer Skidmore 
(301)713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 13, 2007, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (72 FR 18636) that a request for an enhancement 
and scientific research permit to take captive shortnose sturgeon had 
been submitted by the above-named organization. The requested permit 
has been issued under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the regulations 
governing the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and 
threatened species (50 CFR parts 222-226).
    The primary objective is to utilize the available captive brood 
stock population to provide information needed for implementation of 
recovery efforts, as described in the ``Final Recovery Plan for the 
Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum)'' (NMFS, 1998). Captive 
shortnose sturgeon will be maintained, conditioned, spawned and the 
gametes and progeny used for scientific studies, such as cryo-
preservation, genetics, culture techniques, behavioral studies, 
nutrition, and tagging techniques. An additional study characterizing 
the genetic strains of sturgeon in rivers of the Southeast Atlantic 
coast will be accomplished using tissues samples archived at the NOAA/
NOS Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina. This project will not 
require any further takes from the wild or any release of captive 
sturgeon into the wild. The permit is authorized for five years.
    Issuance of this permit, as required by the ESA, was based on a 
finding that such permit (1) was applied for in good faith, (2) will 
not operate to the disadvantage of such endangered or threatened 
species, and (3) is consistent with the purposes and policies set forth 
in section 2 of the ESA.

    Dated: May 18, 2007.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-9961 Filed 5-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S