41230 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 148 / Monday, August 3, 1998 / Notices

by appointment, by contacting the above

address, or:

Director, Southeast Region, NMFS,

NOAA, 9721 Executive Center Drive, St.

Petersburg, FL 33702–2432 (813–893–

3141).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Terri Jordan, Endangered Species

Division, (301) 713–1401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority

Permits are requested under the

authority of section 10 of the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA)

(16 U.S.C. 1531–1543) and the NMFS

regulations governing ESA-listed fish

and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 217–

227).

All statements and opinions

contained in the below application

summaries are those of the applicant

and do not necessarily reflect the views

of NMFS. The holding of a hearing on

this permit is at the discretion of the

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

NOAA.

Issuance of this modification, as

required by the ESA, was based on a

finding that such modification: (1) Was

applied for in good faith; (2) will not

operate to the disadvantage of the listed

species which is the subject of the

permit; and (3) is consistent with the

purposes and policies set forth in

section 2 of the ESA. This modifications

was also issued in accordance with and

is subject to parts 217-222 of Title 50

CFR, the NMFS regulations governing

listed species permits.

New Application Received

ERCI (1174) requests a 5-year permit

to take and conduct research on

endangered shortnose sturgeon

(Acipenser brevirostrum) in the

Delaware River and Estuary system and

in the lower Susquehanna River/

Chesapeake Bay Complex. The

objectives of the study are to collect data

on current distribution, abundance,

length structure and movements of

shortnose sturgeon in the Delaware

River Estuary and in the lower

Susquehanna River and Chesapeake

Bay. Emphasis will be placed on

calculating reliable population

estimates, determining aggregation

areas, and obtaining information on

juvenile shortnose sturgeon. Information

on population size and length

distribution for the Delaware River

population will be compared with that

during the 1980s.

Modification Issued

On June 15, 1998 NMFS received a

request from DFAS for a modification to

Permit 1015. Permit 1015 allows

shortnose sturgeon to be maintained in

captivity. The fish would be PIT-tagged,

anaesthetized, handled, have blood and

tissue samples taken, and be spawned

and progeny reared, in accordance with

the application and current handling

standards. The modification to the

permit increases the number of sturgeon

that the applicant may maintain in

captivity from 200 to 619. The 619

consist of: 100 1– to 3-year old sturgeon;

50 2-year old sturgeon; 30 ripe female

sturgeon; 20 ripe male sturgeon; 69

sturgeon transferred from Mote Marine

Laboratory (#1028) and 350 1997-year

class sturgeon obtained as part of a

group of 5,000 from the USFWS

hatchery in Bear Bluff, SC between May

and June, 1997. Modification 1 is good

for the duration of the permit, which

expires on September 30, 2001.

Dated: July 28, 1998.

Patricia A. Montanio,

Deputy Director, Office of Protected

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–20633 Filed 7–31–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 072498B]

Endangered Species; Permits

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Receipt of an application for a

scientific research permit (1173).

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the Oregon Department of Fish and

Wildlife at Roseburg, OR (ODFW) has

applied in due form for a permit that

would authorize takes of an endangered

species for the purpose of scientific

research.

DATES: Written comments or requests for

a public hearing on this application

must be received on or before

September 2, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The applications and

related documents are available for

review, by appointment, by contacting:

Tom Lichatowich, Protected

Resources Division, F/NWO3, NMFS,

525 NE Oregon Street, Suite 500,

Portland, OR 97232–4169 (503–230–

5438); or

Office of Protected Resources, F/PR3,

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver

Spring, MD 20910–3226 (301–713–

1401).

Written comments or requests for a

public hearing should be submitted to

the Chief, Protected Resources Division,

Portland.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ODFW

requests a five-year permit (1173) for an

annual direct take of endangered, adult

and juvenile cutthroat trout

(Oncorhynchus clarki clarki) associated

with scientific research in the Umpqua

River. This action falls under the

authority of section 10 of the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA)

(16 U.S.C. 1531-1543) and the NMFS

regulations governing ESA-listed fish

and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 217–

227).

ODFW proposes a broad-based

sampling program to continue and

enhance monitoring efforts of the listed

species. Fish would be captured,

examined, marked, and released. Traps,

electrofishing and hook/line techniques

would be used to capture the fish.

Finclips as well as Passive Integrated

Transponders (PIT) would used to mark

and monitor their migrations. Data

would be used to expand current

knowledge about cutthroat distribution,

migration patterns and population

densities. Fish would also be observed

by snorkeling and routine stream

surveys. An indirect mortality of ESAlisted fish associated with the research

is also requested.

Those individuals requesting a

hearing (see ADDRESSES) should set out

the specific reasons why a hearing on

the application would be appropriate.

The holding of such hearing is at the

discretion of the Assistant

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA. All

statements and opinions contained in

the application summary are those of

the applicant and do not necessarily

reflect the views of NMFS.

Dated: July 27, 1998.

Patricia A. Montanio,

Deputy Director, Office of Protected

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–20634 Filed 7–31–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 060998A]

Marine Mammals; File No. P524B

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Issuance of permit amendment.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr.

Shannon Atkinson, University of

Hawaii, Institute of Marine Biology,