[Federal Register: March 22, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 55)]
[Notices]
[Page 14504-14505]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22mr06-56]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 031606C]
Endangered Species; File No. 1571
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Southeast Fisheries Science
Center (SEFSC), NMFS, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida 33149,
has applied in due form for a permit to take green (Chelonia mydas),
loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii),
hawsbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), olive ridley (Lepidochelys
olivacea), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles for
purposes of scientific research.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or
before April 21, 2006.
ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for
review upon written request or by appointment in the following
office(s):
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
Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL
33701; phone (727)824-5312; fax (727)824-5309.
Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this
application should be mailed 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 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 email comments is NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Include in the
subject line of the e-mail comment the following document identifier:
File No. 1571.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Opay or Amy Hapeman, (301)713-
2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is requested 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
222-226).
The research would use resource assessment cruises as a platform to
fill in data gaps in the basic biology of sea
[[Page 14505]]
turtles, provide information on population dynamics to improve stock
assessments, and to better understand the distribution of turtles in
time and space. Turtles that are incidentally captured during resource
assessment cruises would be used by the SEFSC in their assessments of
distribution and abundance of turtles, as well as the cumulative impact
of the relevant fishery on the stocks. The incidental capture would
accrue to and be authorized by the fisheries being researched. The
SEFSC would annually handle, identify, examine, measure, weigh,
photograph, flipper tag, passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag, skin
biopsy, and release or salvage the carcass, tissue, and parts of up to
6 green, 17 loggerhead, 8 Kemp's ridley, 6 hawksbill, 6 olive ridley, 6
unidentified hardshell, and 17 leatherback sea turtles. Research would
occur in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and their
tributaries. The permit would be issued for five years.
Dated: March 16, 2006.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-4159 Filed 3-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S