Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 24, 2012 / Notices 24469 

salmon and PS steelhead. Sampling 

sites would be located in the Lake 

Washington Ship Canal between the 

Ballard Locks and Shilshole Bay. The 

purpose of the study is to identify the 

spatial and temporal distribution of bull 

trout in the Lake Washington Ship 

Canal and in the nearshore waters of 

Shilshole Bay. The research would 

benefit listed fish by improving 

management decisions regarding 

operations at the Hiram Chittenden 

Locks, as well as by providing valuable 

information on the overall picture of 

bull trout populations and their life 

histories in Puget Sound. The 

researchers propose to use beach seines 

to capture the fish. All Chinook salmon 

and steelhead would be immediately 

released at the capture. The researchers 

do not propose to kill any of the listed 

salmonids being captured, but a small 

number may die as an unintended result 

of the activities. 

Permit 17214 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(FWS) is seeking a 1-year research 

permit to annually take juvenile PS 

Chinook salmon and PS steelhead. The 

sampling would take place in Dean 

Creek, Washington (a tributary flowing 

into Sequim Bay). The purpose of the 

study is to determine fish species 

presence and distribution in Dean Creek 

and its environs; this information would 

be used to inform the Dungeness 

Wildlife Refuge comprehensive 

conservation plan. The research would 

benefit listed salmonids by identifying 

and prioritizing management activities 

designed to protect fish species in this 

stream. The FWS proposes capturing 

fish by using backpack electrofishing 

equipment. Fish would be collected 

with dip nets, enumerated, allowed to 

recover in aerated water, and released 

back into their capture locations. The 

researchers do not propose to kill any of 

the listed salmonids being captured, but 

a small number may die as an 

unintended result of the activities. 

Permit 17222 

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm 

Springs Reservation of Oregon 

(CTWSRO) are seeking a 5-year permit 

to annually take MCR steelhead during 

the course of research designed to 

determine the feasibility of PIT-tagging 

juvenile summer/fall Chinook (a nonlisted species) in the Deschutes River, 

Oregon. The purpose of the research is 

to generate population metrics such as 

juvenile growth rates, smolt-to-adult 

return ratios, size/condition at 

emigration, etc. This information would 

be used to develop performance 

indicators for monitoring the fishes’ 

status and trends. This research would 

benefit listed species by helping 

managers develop a picture of river 

health and salmonid population trends 

in the Deschutes River. That 

information, in turn, would be used in 

recovery planning efforts and generally 

incorporated into resource management 

decisions that may affect the Deschutes 

River. The researchers intend to use 

seines to capture the fish and all 

captured MCR steelhead will be 

released immediately. The researchers 

do not propose to kill any of the listed 

salmonids being captured, but a small 

number may die as an unintended result 

of the activities. 

This notice is provided pursuant to 

section 10(c) of the ESA. NMFS will 

evaluate the applications, associated 

documents, and comments submitted to 

determine whether the applications 

meet the requirements of section 10(a) 

of the ESA and Federal regulations. The 

final permit decisions will not be made 

until after the end of the 30-day 

comment period. NMFS will publish 

notice of its final action in the Federal 

Register. 

Dated: April 19, 2012. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9866 Filed 4–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XB168 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Take of Anadromous Fish 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Receipt of two applications for 

scientific research and enhancement 

permits. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

NMFS has received two scientific 

research and enhancement permit 

application requests relating to 

salmonids listed under the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA). The proposed 

research activities are intended to 

increase knowledge of the species and 

to help guide management and 

conservation efforts. The applications 

and related documents may be viewed 

online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/ 

preview/ 

preview_open_for_comment.cfm. These 

documents are also available upon 

written request or by appointment by 

contacting NMFS by phone (916) 930– 

3600 or fax (916) 930–3629. 

DATES: Written comments on the permit 

applications must be received at the 

appropriate address or fax number (see 

ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific 

standard time on May 24, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on either 

application should be submitted to the 

Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 

650 Capitol Mall, Suite 5–100, 

Sacramento, CA 95814. Comments may 

also be submitted via fax to (916) 930– 

3629 or by email to 

FRNpermitsSAC.SR@noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amanda Cranford, Sacramento, CA (ph.: 

916–930–3706, email: 

Amanda.Cranford@noaa.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Species Covered in This Notice 

This notice is relevant to federally 

threatened California Central Valley 

steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), 

threatened Central Valley spring-run 

Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), 

endangered Sacramento River winterrun Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), 

and threatened Southern Distinct 

Population Segment of North American 

green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris). 

Authority 

Scientific research permits are issued 

in accordance with section 10(a)(1)(A) 

of the ESA of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531– 

1543) and regulations governing listed 

fish and wildlife permits(50 CFR parts 

222–226). NMFS issues permits based 

on findings that such permits: (1) Are 

applied for in good faith; (2) if granted 

and exercised, would not operate to the 

disadvantage of the listed species which 

are the subject of the permits; and (3) 

are consistent with the purposes and 

policies set forth in section 2 of the 

ESA. The authority to take listed species 

is subject to conditions set forth in the 

permits. 

Anyone requesting a hearing on the 

applications listed in this notice should 

set out the specific reasons why a 

hearing on the application(s) would be 

appropriate (see ADDRESSES). Such 

hearings are held at the discretion of the 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

NMFS. 

Applications Received 

Permit 14808 

The California Department of Fish 

and Game (CDFG) is requesting a 5-year 

scientific research and enhancement 

permit to take juvenile California 

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24470 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 24, 2012 / Notices 

Central Valley steelhead, juvenile 

Central Valley spring-run Chinook 

salmon, juvenile Sacramento River 

winter-run Chinook salmon, and 

juvenile Southern Distinct Population 

Segment North American green sturgeon 

associated with research activities at 

two different sites in the upper 

Sacramento River. Application 14808 

was previous noticed in the Federal 

Register (75 FR 14134) with a 30 day 

comment period from March 24, 2010, 

to April 23, 2010. No comments were 

received for this application, however 

due to substantial changes to the 

sampling locations and the amount take 

NMFS decided to publish the revised 

notice for public comment. In the 

studies described below, researchers do 

not expect to kill any natural origin 

listed fish but a small number, up to two 

percent, may die as an unintended 

result of the research activities. A subsample of hatchery produced winter-run 

Chinook salmon (up to 40 per day) may 

experience intentional (directed) 

mortality and be retained by CDFG for 

coded wire tag retrieval and reading. 

Monitoring efforts are conducted in 

order to compile information on timing, 

composition (species/race), and relative 

abundance of emigrating juvenile 

Chinook salmon and Central Valley 

steelhead from the upper Sacramento 

River system into the Sacramento-San 

Joaquin Delta. This information 

provides an early warning of salmonid 

movement into the Delta, enabling the 

implementation of adaptive 

management practices to protect 

juveniles as they enter and pass through 

the Delta. 

Sampling will occur through the use 

of paired 8-foot rotary screw traps at two 

different sites along the upper 

Sacramento River. The first site, located 

near the town of Knights Landing (river 

mile (RM) 88.5) will be sampled 

beginning in October and continue 

through June of the following year. 

Traps will be fished continuously and 

checked once every 24 hours unless 

conditions warrant more frequent 

sampling. Captured salmonids will be: 

Anesthetized, handled (including fork 

length and wet weight measurements), 

allowed to recover, and released back 

into the river with the exception of up 

to 40 adipose fin clipped Chinook 

salmon that will be retained for coded 

wire tag processing. Sampling at Tisdale 

Weir (RM 120) will follow the same 

methods as described above, however 

sampling will occur year round from 

January through December. 

Permit 13791 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(USFWS) is requesting a 3-year 

scientific research and enhancement 

permit to take juvenile California 

Central Valley steelhead, juvenile 

Central Valley spring-run Chinook 

salmon, juvenile Sacramento River 

winter-run Chinook salmon, and 

juvenile Southern Distinct Population 

Segment North American green sturgeon 

associated with research activities at 

monitoring sites in the Sacramento 

River basin and the Sacramento-San 

Joaquin Delta. Application 13791 was 

previously noticed in the Federal 

Register (73 FR 70622) with a 30-day 

comment period from November 21, 

2008, to December 22, 2008. No 

comments were received for this 

application, however due to substantial 

changes in the sampling procedures and 

the amount take NMFS decided to 

publish the revised notice for public 

comment. In the studies described 

below, researchers do not expect to kill 

any natural origin listed fish but a small 

number, up to three percent, may die as 

an unintended result of the research 

activities. All hatchery origin Chinook 

salmon with clipped adipose fins are 

assumed to be implanted with a coded 

wire tag. In order to retrieve and read 

these tags, all adipose fin clipped 

Chinook salmon captured during 

sampling will be sacrificed and retained 

for processing. 

The Stockton Fish and Wildlife 

Office’s Delta Juvenile Fish Monitoring 

Program (DJFMP) monitors the 

abundance, temporal and spatial 

distribution, and survival of juvenile 

salmonids and other fishes occurring 

within the lower Sacramento and San 

Joaquin Rivers and the San Francisco 

Estuary. The Breach III Project 

documents the occurrence and habitat 

use of ESA-listed fishes within Liberty 

Island, a tidally influenced freshwater 

marsh currently undergoing passive 

restoration, located within the San 

Francisco Estuary. The fish monitoring 

data collected by the DJFMP and the 

Breach III Project are intended to 

provide basic biological and population 

information on fishes of management 

concern, including the ESA listed 

winter- and spring-run Chinook salmon 

and Central Valley steelhead. Further, 

data can be used by natural resource 

managers to evaluate the effectiveness of 

water operations, aquatic habitat 

restoration, and fish management 

practices within the San Francisco 

Estuary and its watershed. As a result, 

take of ESA listed salmonids will likely 

occur while sampling using a variety of 

methodologies (e.g. fyke nets, multimesh gill nets, larval fish trawls, midwater trawls, Kodiak trawls, and beach 

seines). Captured fish will be identified 

to species or race, measured for fork 

length to the nearest millimeter, and 

released back into the sampled location. 

Scale samples will also be taken from a 

sub-sample of natural origin Chinook 

salmon to assist the University of 

California, Davis with their genetic 

research in the Yolo Bypass. 

Dated: April 19, 2012. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9859 Filed 4–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XA929 

Marine Mammals; Photography Permit 

File No. 17032 

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 Shane Moore, 

Moore & Moore Films, Box 2980, 1203 

Melody Creek Lane, Jackson, WY 83001 

to conduct commercial/educational 

photography in Alaska. 

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 

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, 

Juneau, AK 99802–1668; phone (907) 

586–7221; fax (907) 586–7249. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carrie Hubard or Joselyd Garcia-Reyes, 

(301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

January 13, 2012, notice was published 

in the Federal Register (77 FR 2037) 

that a request for a permit for 

commercial/educational photography 

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). 

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