Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 26 / Thursday, February 7, 2008 / Notices 7261 

are available on-line from the NMFS 

website: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. 

Dated: February 1, 2008. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office 

of Protected Resources, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–2278 Filed 2–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF47 

Endangered Species; File No. 1595 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

modification 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

Mr. Michael M. Hastings, University of 

Maine, 5717 Corbett Hall, Orono, Maine 

04469, has requested a modification to 

scientific research Permit No. 1595–01. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail 

comments must be received on or before 

March 10, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: The modification request 

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 

Northeast Region, NMFS, One 

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 

01930–2298; phone (978)281–9300; fax 

(978)281–9394. 

Written comments or requests for a 

public hearing on this request should be 

submitted to the Chief, Permits, 

Conservation and Education Division, 

F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those 

individuals requesting a hearing should 

set forth the specific reasons why a 

hearing on this particular modification 

request would be appropriate. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

facsimile at (301)427–2521, provided 

the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy 

submitted by mail and postmarked no 

later than the closing date of the 

comment period. 

Comments may also be submitted by 

e-mail. The mailbox address for 

providing e-mail comments is 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line of the e-mail 

comment the following document 

identifier: File No. 1595. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brandy Belmas or Malcolm Mohead, 

(301)713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

subject modification to Permit No. 

1595–01, issued on May 1, 2007 (72 FR 

19469) is requested under the authority 

of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 

as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and 

the regulations governing the taking, 

importing, and exporting of endangered 

and threatened species (50 CFR 222–

226). 

Permit No. 1595–01 authorizes the 

permit holder to: capture, anesthetize, 

measure, weigh, sex (borescope), Carlin 

and PIT tag, recover and release up to 

70 sub-adult and adult shortnose 

sturgeon annually. Up to 30 sub-adult 

and adult shortnose sturgeon, annually, 

would be fitted (or implanted) with an 

external (or internal) transmitter, in 

addition to the previously mentioned 

procedures. This permit also authorizes 

the annual lethal take of up to 50 

shortnose sturgeon eggs, up to 30 of 

which may be transported to the lab for 

genetic sampling. Up to 2 incidental 

mortalities of shortnose sturgeon each 

year is also currently authorized. 

The permit holder is now requesting 

authorization to: (1) increase the total 

annual take of shortnose sturgeon from 

100 fish to 200 fish; (2) expand netting 

efforts to include currently restricted 

areas (i.e., within 0.5 miles of the 

confluence of the Penobscot River with 

Cove Brook, and the Kenduskeag River); 

(3) add D-net sampling as a method of 

sturgeon egg collection; (4) add nonlethal blood sampling as a procedure 

(which would be conducted on up to 30 

fish of which the capture and handling 

is already authorized); and (5) add and 

remove personnel authorized to conduct 

research activities. The purpose of the 

proposed modification is to better assess 

the distribution, movements, abundance 

and spawning of shortnose sturgeon in 

the Penobscot River, Maine. This 

modification would be valid through the 

expiration date of the original permit, 

March 31, 2012. 

Dated: February 1, 2008. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–2277 Filed 2–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XE83 

Incidental Take of Marine Mammals; 

Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental 

to Missile Launch Operations from San 

Nicolas Island, CA 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of issuance of a letter of 

authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), as amended, notification is 

hereby given that a letter of 

authorization (LOA) to take three 

species of marine mammals incidental 

to missile launch operations from San 

Nicolas Island, CA (SNI) has been 

issued to the Naval Air Warfare Center 

Weapons Division (NAWC-WD), Point 

Mugu, CA. 

DATES: This authorization is effective 

from February 3, 2008, through October 

2, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: The application, LOA, and 

Navy monitoring report are available for 

review in the Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West 

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 or by 

contacting one of the individuals 

mentioned below (See FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Howard Goldstein or Ken Hollingshead, 

NMFS, (301) 713–2289 ext. 172. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 

1361 et seq.) directs NMFS to allow, on 

request, the incidental, but not 

intentional, taking of marine mammals 

by U.S. citizens who engage in a 

specified activity (other than 

commercial fishing), if certain findings 

are made by NMFS and regulations are 

issued. Under the MMPA, the term 

‘‘taking’’ means to harass, hunt, capture, 

or kill or to attempt to harass, hunt, 

capture or kill marine mammals. 

Authorization may be granted for 

periods up to five years if NMFS finds, 

after notification and opportunity for 

public comment, that the taking will 

have a negligible impact on the species 

or stock(s) of marine mammals and will 

not have an unmitigable adverse impact 

on the availability of the species or 

stock(s) for certain subsistence uses. In 

addition, NMFS must prescribe 

regulations that include permissible 

methods of taking and other means of 


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