[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1203-1205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00139]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XC426
Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Issuance of five scientific research permits.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued Permit 14808 to
the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), Permit 15573 to the
Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID), Permit 16543 to the California
Department of Water Resources (CDWR), Permit 13791 to the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and Permit 17077 to Dr. Peter Moyle
with the University of California, Davis (UCD).
ADDRESSES: The approved application for each permit is available on the
Applications and Permits for Protected Species (APPS), https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov Web site by searching the permit number within the
Search Database page. The applications, issued permits and supporting
documents are also available upon written request or by appointment:
Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 650 Capitol Mall, Room 5-100,
Sacramento, CA 95814 (phone: (916) 930-3600, fax: (916) 930-3629).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Cranford at 916-930-3706, or
email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority
The issuance of permits and permit modifications, as required by
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1543) (ESA), is
based on a finding that such permits/modifications: (1) Are applied for
in good faith; (2) 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
[[Page 1204]]
ESA. Authority to take listed species is subject to conditions set
forth in the permits. Permits and modifications are issued in
accordance with and are subject to the ESA and NMFS regulations (50 CFR
parts 222-226) governing listed fish and wildlife permits.
Species Covered in This Notice
This notice is relevant to federally endangered Sacramento River
(SR) winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhyncus tshawytscha), threatened
Central Valley (CV) spring-run Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha),
threatened California Central Valley (CCV) steelhead (O. mykiss), and
threatened southern distinct population segment (SDPS) of North
American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), henceforth referred to
as ESA-listed salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon.
Permits Issued
Permit 14808
A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research
permit (14808) was published in the Federal Register on April 24, 2012
(77 FR 24469). Permit 14808 was issued to CDFG on September 26, 2012
and expires on December 31, 2017.
Permit 14808 is for research to be conducted at two different sites
within the upper Sacramento River, California. The main purpose of the
research conducted by CDFG is to monitor the outmigration of juvenile
salmonids on a real-time basis and provide daily summaries of timing,
abundance and size distribution of salmonids in the Sacramento River at
two different sites before they enter the Delta. Data can then be
forwarded to various water agencies for better management decisions and
to reduce frequency of ESA-listed fish entrainment. Permit 14808
authorizes capture (by rotary screw trap), anesthetizing, handling
(fork length measurements and wet weights), and release of smolt and
juvenile SR winter-run and CV spring-run Chinook salmon, adult and
juvenile CCV steelhead and juvenile SDPS green sturgeon downstream of
the trapping location.
Permit 14808 authorizes non-lethal take and low levels (not to
exceed two percent) of unintentional lethal take. Permit 14808 also
authorizes intentional, directed lethal take of smolt and juvenile
adipose fin-clipped, hatchery produced, SR winter-run Chinook salmon
for coded wire tag retrieval and processing.
Permit 15573
A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research
and enhancement permit renewal (15573) was published in the Federal
Register on December 15, 2010 (75 FR 78226). Permit 15573 was issued to
GCID on October 5, 2012 and expires on December 31, 2017.
Permit 15573 is for research to be conducted in an oxbow of the
Sacramento River, immediately downstream of the Hamilton City Pumping
Plant, Glenn County, California. The primary objectives to which ESA-
listed salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon may be taken are to collect
emigration data as a reference and research tool to provide short-term
monitoring specifically related to restoration actions and long-term
monitoring to detect annular and cyclic population changes. Take
activities associated with research on smolt and juvenile ESA-listed
salmonids and juvenile SDPS green sturgeon include the following:
capture (by rotary screw trap), anesthetizing, and release of fish
downstream of the trapping location.
Permit 15573 authorizes non-lethal and low levels (not to exceed
two percent) of unintentional lethal take of smolt and juvenile ESA-
listed salmonids and juvenile SDPS green sturgeon. Permit 15573 does
not authorize any intentional lethal take of ESA-listed salmonids and
SDPS green sturgeon.
Permit 16543
A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research
and enhancement permit (16543) was published in the Federal Register on
July 18, 2012 (77 FR 42278). Permit 16543 was issued to CDWR on October
22, 2012 and expires on December 31, 2014.
Permit 16543 is for research to be conducted in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta, California. The primary objectives to which ESA-listed
salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon may be taken are to provide
information on spatial and environmental patterns of predation;
critical information for guiding future restoration projects on
conditions likely to support or discourage higher predation rates on
ESA-listed and native fishes. Take activities associated with research
on adult ESA-listed salmonids and both juvenile and adult SDPS green
sturgeon include the following: capture (by trammel net), handling
(species identification and enumeration), and release of fish
downstream of the capture location.
Permit 16543 authorizes CDWR non-lethal take of adult ESA-listed
salmonids and both juvenile and adult SDPS green sturgeon. Permit 16543
does not authorize any unintentional or intentional lethal take of ESA-
listed salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon.
Permit 13791
A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research
and enhancement permit (13791) was published in the Federal Register on
April 24, 2012 (77 FR 24469). Permit 13791 was issued to USFWS on
October 23, 2012 and expires on December 31, 2015.
Permit 13791 is for research to be conducted in the Sacramento
River basin and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California. The
primary objectives to which ESA-listed salmonids and SDPS green
sturgeon may be taken by the USFWS' Delta Juvenile Fish Monitoring
Program and the Breach III Project are to provide basic biological and
population information on fishes of management concern. Additionally,
data collected 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 (SFE) and
its watershed. Take activities associated with research on juvenile
ESA-listed salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon include the following:
capture (by fyke nets, multi-mesh gill nets, larval fish trawls,
midwater trawls, Kodiak trawls, electrofishing and beach seines),
handling (species and race identification and enumeration, fork-length
measurements, tissue/scale samples if applicable), and release of fish
downstream of the capture location.
Permit 13791 authorizes non-lethal take and low levels (not to
exceed 12.5 percent) of unintentional lethal take. Permit 13791 also
authorizes intentional, directed lethal take of smolt and juvenile
adipose fin-clipped, hatchery produced, SR winter-run and CV spring-run
Chinook salmon for coded wire tag retrieval and processing.
Permit 17077
A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research
and enhancement permit (17077) was published in the Federal Register on
August 24, 2012 (77 FR 51520). Permit 17077 was issued to Dr. Peter
Moyle on November 26, 2012 and expires on December 31, 2015.
Permit 17077 is for research to be conducted in three distinct
regions across the SFE: the Cache-Lindsay Slough complex, the Sherman
Lake
[[Page 1205]]
complex, and Suisun Marsh. The primary objectives to which ESA-listed
salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon may be taken by Dr. Moyle are to
determine the extent that native fishes use intertidal and subtidal
shallow water and marsh (SWM) habitats in the northern arc of the SFE
and to understand how fishes commonly inhabiting Suisun Marsh use the
Sacramento River corridor to access SWM habitats that are not currently
surveyed in Sherman Lake, Cache Slough and Lindsey Slough. Further, Dr.
Moyle will model fish abundance and assembly using biophysical habitat
data (including slough geomorphology, hydrology, and water quality) to
guide restoration projects that will successfully support native fishes
and discourage aliens.
Permit 17077 authorizes non-lethal take and low levels (not to
exceed 20 percent, equivalent to one fish) of unintentional lethal take
of adult and juvenile ESA-listed salmonids and both adult and juvenile
SDPS green sturgeon. Permit 17077 does not authorize any intentional
lethal take of ESA-listed salmonids or SDPS green sturgeon.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-00139 Filed 1-7-13; 8:45 am]
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