[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 31, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 53278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21709]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XY58


Endangered Species; File No. 14759

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 Joseph Hightower, Ph.D., North 
Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, North Carolina 
State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, has been issued a permit to take 
shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for scientific research.

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

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 12, 2010, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (75 FR 11862) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take shortnose sturgeon had been submitted by the 
above-named individual. 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 applicant is authorized to conduct a five-year scientific study 
determining the presence, abundance and distribution of shortnose 
sturgeon in North Carolina rivers (Chowan, Roanoke, and Cape Fear) and 
estuaries (Albemarle Sound). The permit authorizes non-lethal sampling 
with anchored gill nets, capturing up to 15 shortnose sturgeon annually 
from the Chowan and Cape Fear River Basins and Albemarle Sound. Similar 
activities capturing up to 25 shortnose sturgeon from the Roanoke River 
Basin will also be conducted each year. A sub-set of up to five adults 
or sub-adults from each river and Albemarle Sound will be anesthetized 
and implanted with internal sonic transmitters annually. Each will be 
captured, measured, weighed, sampled for genetic tissue analysis, and 
PIT tagged. Tracking sturgeon at fixed receiver stations will take 
place providing information about movement, seasonal distribution and 
habitat use.
    As required by the ESA, issuance of this permit 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 species; and (3) is 
consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the 
ESA.

    Dated: August 25, 2010.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-21709 Filed 8-30-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S