[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 72 (Monday, April 15, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 22239]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08786]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC037


Endangered Species; File No. 16556

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 NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science 
Center (NEFSC; Responsible Party: Dr. William Karp), 166 Water St., 
Woods Hole, MA 02543 has been issued a permit to take loggerhead 
(Caretta caretta), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Kemp's ridley 
(Lepidochelys kempii), and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles for 
purposes of scientific research.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
    Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; 
phone (301) 427-8401; fax (301) 713-0376;
    Northeast Region, NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930; phone (978) 281-9328; fax (978) 281-9394; and
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Ave South, St. Petersburg, FL 
33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 824-5309.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Hapeman or Kristy Beard, (301) 
427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 29, 2012, notice was published in the 
Federal Register (77 FR 31586) that a request for a scientific research 
permit to take loggerhead, leatherback, Kemp's ridley, and green sea 
turtles had been submitted by the above-named organization. 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 NEFSC has been issued a five-year permit to continue sea turtle 
ecological research in the Western Atlantic (Florida Keys through 
Maine). Researchers may capture sea turtles by hand, using nets, or 
obtain them from other legal authorities. Sea turtles may be counted, 
examined, photographed, marked, biologically sampled, and/or have 
transmitters attached to the carapace prior to release and then 
temporarily tracked. One sea turtle may accidentally die each year 
during research. Researchers may also salvage carcass, tissue, and 
parts from dead animals encountered during surveys. A portion of the 
requested research procedures are not being authorized at this time.
    Issuance of this permit, as required by the ESA, 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 or threatened 
species, and (3) is consistent with the purposes and policies set forth 
in section 2 of the ESA.

    Dated: April 10, 2013.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-08786 Filed 4-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P