[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 23 (Monday, February 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7755-7757]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02305]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XC476
Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Receipt of two permit applications and one permit modification
request for scientific research and enhancement.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received two scientific
research and enhancement permit applications and one permit
modification request relating to anadromous species listed under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposed research activities are
intended to increase knowledge of the species and to help guide
management and conservation efforts. The applications and related
documents may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.
[[Page 7756]]
noaa.gov/preview/preview--open--for--comment.cfm. These documents are
also available upon written request or by appointment by contacting
NMFS by phone (916) 930-3706 or fax (916) 930 3629.
DATES: Written comments on the permit applications or modification
request must be received at the appropriate address or fax number (see
ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific standard time on March 6, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the applications or modification request
should be submitted to the Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 650
Capitol Mall, Room 5-100, Sacramento, CA 95814. Comments may also be
submitted via fax to (916) 930-3629 or by email to
FRNpermits.SR@noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Cranford, Sacramento, CA (ph.:
916-930-3706, email.: Amanda.Cranford@noaa.gov).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Species Covered in This Notice
This notice is relevant to federally threatened California Central
Valley steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), threatened Central Valley
spring-run Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), endangered Sacramento River
winter-run Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), and the threatened southern
distinct population segment of North American (SDPS) green sturgeon
(Acipenser medirostris).
Authority
Scientific research permits are issued in accordance with section
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1543) and regulations
governing listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 222-226). NMFS
issues permits based on findings that such permits: (1) Are applied for
in good faith; (2) if granted and exercised, 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 ESA. The authority to take listed species is
subject to conditions set forth in the permits.
Anyone requesting a hearing on the applications or permit
modification request listed in this notice should set out the specific
reasons why a hearing on the application(s) would be appropriate (see
ADDRESSES). Such hearings are held at the discretion of the Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, NMFS.
Applications Received
Permit 17299
The NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Fisheries Ecology
Division (SWFSC) is requesting a 5-year scientific research and
enhancement permit to take adult, smolt and juvenile CCV steelhead, SR
winter-run Chinook salmon, CV spring-run Chinook salmon, and adult and
juvenile SDPS green sturgeon associated with research activities in the
Central Valley, California. Incidental mortality of ESA-listed species
is not expected to exceed two percent of the total take for Permit
17299. The overall goal of this project is to provide critical
information in support of conservation and management of California's
salmon stocks. The SWFSC will conduct comparative studies on salmonid
ecology across all Central Valley habitats (streams, rivers and Delta)
to increase our knowledge of California's Chinook salmon and steelhead
life histories.
The studies proposed for Permit 17299 will follow three directions:
(1) Telemetry studies to assess river habitat use, behavior, and
survival, (2) predator impacts on salmon, and (3) physiological
measurements of aerobic scope across stocks. The results of these
studies will be integrated into life-cycle modeling efforts at the
SWFSC and provide guidance to NMFS, Southwest Region and other Central
Valley agencies for their resource management efforts.
In situations where the SWFSC are unable to rely on collaborators
to capture fish through rotary screw trapping, collection methods will
include fyke nets, backpack electrofishing, beach seining, tangle
netting, DIDSON observations, and hook and line. Handling will
typically involve sedation of juveniles (MS-222), measurements, tissue
sampling (fin clips and scales from most, stomach lavage [subset] and
tagging [PIT tags, acoustic tags]) followed by release of live fish.
Another group of hatchery produced salmonids will be tested in the
laboratory to measure aerobic scope under a range of temperature and
flow combinations. A small subset of those hatchery produced fish will
be sacrificed to collect otoliths for age and growth measurements,
organ tissue for isotope analysis, biochemical and genomic expression
assays, and tag effects/retention studies.
Permit 17777
David Vogel, Senior Scientist with Natural Resource Scientists,
Inc. (NRSI) is requesting a 2-year scientific research and enhancement
permit to take entrained juvenile CCV steelhead, SR winter-run Chinook
salmon, CV spring-run Chinook salmon, and SDPS green sturgeon
associated with research activities at the Sycamore diversion site on
the middle Sacramento River, Colusa County, California.
This research is part of an ongoing effort to develop criteria to
prioritize fish screening projects on the Sacramento River and
experiment with devices to reduce fish entrainment into unscreened
diversions. The site was selected by state and federal agencies.
Sampling will involve the use of fyke nets positioned at the diversion
outfall in the irrigation canal. The diversion has been screened with
two retractable screens. The UC-Davis Hydraulics Laboratory has
designed an alternative device to reduce fish entrainment for placement
over the two riverine intakes in lieu of the two fish screens. Fish
sampling will occur every day with the behavioral devices in place and
removed on alternating days throughout the irrigation season. The
effectiveness of the behavioral device will be determined by comparing
the numbers of fish entrained each day with the devices in place and
removed.
Fish captured on the outfall side of the pumped diversions are not
expected to be alive or salvageable since fish will be mortally injured
by the pumps, lethally stressed in pressurized pipes and warm water, or
otherwise lost to the water distribution systems. Dead or moribund fish
will be identified to species, enumerated, measured, and the carcasses
put back into the canals at the sampling site. To the extent
practicable, any captured live ESA-listed species will be immediately
returned to the river. This study will also incorporate an ongoing
process to correlate fish entrainment with physical, hydraulic, and
habitat variables at diversion sites. Results from this research should
assist in providing the technical basis to determine the effectiveness
of the behavioral devices, as well as developing criteria for ranking
and prioritizing diversions for future screening opportunities.
Modification Request Received
Permit 16543-M1
Permit 16543 was issued to the California Department of Water
Resources (CDWR) on October 2, 2012 for take of adult CCV steelhead, SR
winter-run Chinook salmon, CV spring-run Chinook salmon, and adult,
subadult, and juvenile SDPS green sturgeon associated with research
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activities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California.
This project examines predation by introduced fishes and native
resident fishes on migrating native fishes across a variety of habitats
and migration corridors in the northern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Results 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
endangered and native fishes. Sampling is conducted April, June and
December in the Sacramento River above Rio Vista, Georgiana, Steamboat,
Miner, and Cache sloughs, and the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel.
Predators are sampled using trammel nets, with the goal of genetically
analyzing gut contents for the DNA of various prey items. While listed
species are not the target of the sampling program, incidental take may
occur and will provide valuable information on abundance, habitat use,
and migration timing.
CDWR is requesting a modification of Permit 16543. The proposed
changes include; an additional monitoring site at Liberty Island in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and an increase in juvenile, sub-adult,
and adult SDPS green sturgeon take across all locations. Incidental
mortality estimates will remain at zero.
The monitoring carried out under Permit 16543 represents the
initial field effort for a brand new project. The take estimates for
SDPS green sturgeon for Permit 16543 was purely an estimate based on
the expectation that SDPS green sturgeon densities are very low in the
region. However, preliminary monitoring attempts by CDWR were met with
higher than anticipated catches of SDPS green sturgeon. Given the
paucity of information on the location and behavior of SDPS green
sturgeon in the Delta, continued sampling will provide new data on the
movements and locations of SDPS green sturgeon and further assist NMFS
and other agencies in their management of this species.
Dated: January 29, 2013.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-02305 Filed 2-1-13; 8:45 am]
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