[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 138 (Friday, July 18, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 41990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-16943]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XA179
Endangered Species; File Nos. 18069 and 14726
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit and permit modification.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Jeffrey Schmid, Ph.D., Conservancy
of Southwest Florida, 1450 Merrihue Drive, Naples, FL 34102 and Blair
Witherington, Ph.D., Disney's Animal Kingdom, Animal Programs
Administration, P.O. Box 10,000, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830, have been
issued a permit [No. 18069] and a permit modification [No. 14726-02],
respectively, to take Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), loggerhead
(Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys
imbricata), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles for
purposes of scientific research.
ADDRESSES: The permits and related documents are available for review
upon written request or by appointment in the following office:
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Hapeman or Rosa L.
Gonz[aacute]lez, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 1, 2013 and September 18, 2013,
notices were published in the Federal Register (78 FR 39258 and 78 FR
57353) that a request for a scientific research permit and a
modification of Permit No. 14726-01, respectively, to take sea turtles
had been submitted by the above-named individuals. The requested permit
and permit modification have 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).
Permit No. 18069 authorizes researchers to capture green,
loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, and hawksbill sea turtles by encircle or
strike net to assess the species' composition, relative abundance,
size-class distribution, genetic structure, trophic status, health,
seasonality, habitat use, and migrations of marine turtles inhabiting
the coastal waters of Charlotte Harbor and the Ten Thousand Islands in
southwest Florida. Sea turtles may have the following procedures
performed before release: measure; photograph/video; flipper and
passive integrated transponder tag; weigh; skin, scute and blood
sample; and/or attach one to two transmitters to the carapace. A subset
of animals may be transported and held in the lab for 48 hours for
fecal sampling prior to release. The permit is valid for 5 years from
the date of issuance.
Permit No. 14726-01 authorizes the permit holder to locate and
describe areas of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico near Florida
that serve as developmental habitat for pelagic-stage juvenile and
neonate loggerhead, green, Kemp's ridley, hawksbill, and leatherback
sea turtles, to quantify threats to pelagic sea turtles, and to gather
information on their life-history, genetics, movements, behavior, and
diet. Researchers are authorized to capture by dip net, flipper and
passive integrated transponder tag, measure, weigh, and oral swab sea
turtles. A subset of animals may be skin biopsied, fecal sampled,
lavaged or have a satellite tag attached. The permit modification (No.
02) 1) expands the action area in the Gulf of Mexico; 2) authorizes
another satellite tag attachment method, scute sampling, and blood
sampling; and 3) increases the take numbers and life stages of animals
that may be harassed or biologically sampled and satellite tagged. The
permit is valid through September 15, 2015.
Issuance of these permits, as required by the ESA, was based on a
finding that each 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: July 15, 2014.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-16943 Filed 7-17-14; 8:45 am]
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