[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 228 (Friday, November 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 74085]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30133]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XE315
Endangered Species; File Nos. 19331 and 19642
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of applications.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Harold Brundage [Responsible
Party], Environmental Research and Consulting, Inc.; 126 Bancroft Rd;
Kennett Square, PA 19348, has applied in due form for a permit [File
No. 19331] to take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) and
Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) for purposes of
conducting scientific research; and that Jason Kahn [Responsible
Party], NOAA Fisheries, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD
20910, has applied in due form for a permit to take shortnose sturgeon
and Atlantic sturgeon for purposes of scientific research.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or
before December 28, 2015.
ADDRESSES: The applications and related documents are available for
review by selecting ``Records Open for Public Comment'' from the
``Features'' box on the Applications and Permits for Protected Species
(APPS) home page, https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then selecting either
File No. 19331 or File No. 19642 from the list of available
applications.
These documents are also available upon written request or by
appointment in the 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.
Written comments on these applications should be submitted to the
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, at the address listed above.
Comments may also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 713-0376, or by
email to [email protected]. Please include the File No. in the
subject line of the email comment.
Those individuals requesting a public hearing should submit a
written request to the Chief, Permits and Conservation Division at the
address listed above. The request should set forth the specific reasons
why a hearing on either of these applications would be appropriate.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Malcolm Mohead or Rosa L.
Gonz[aacute]lez, (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permits are 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
parts 222-226).
File No. 19331: The applicant proposes to combine and continue
similar shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon research currently authorized
in the Delaware River and Estuary by Permit No 14604 (expiring on April
19, 2016) and Permit No. 16438 (expiring on April 5, 2017),
respectively. At issuance of Permit No. 19331, both of the former
permits would be terminated. The applicant's new objectives would be to
characterize Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon habitat use in the lower
Delaware River (between rkm 0 to rkm 245), studying the relative
abundance, recruitment, temporal-spatial distributions, and
reproduction, as well as assessing the potential for entrainment and
impingement of various life stages of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon
at the intakes of selected industrial sites on the Delaware River. The
permit would be valid for five years from the date of issuance.
File No. 19642: The applicant has proposed two studies to study
Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon in the Chesapeake Bay and other river
systems of the Atlantic coast. The primary objective of Study No. 1
would be discovering and quantifying new populations of Atlantic and
shortnose sturgeon in the York, Rappahannock, Potomac, and Susquehanna
Rivers, and other Chesapeake Bay tributaries of Virginia and Maryland.
Researchers would also attempt to monitor spawning activity, movement,
and habitat use of individuals of these populations through telemetry
and side-scan sonar technology. In Study No. 2, researchers would
opportunistically sample Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon legally
captured under ESA incidental take permits or incidental take
statements authorized by NMFS in other actions. Goals would be to track
coastal movements of both species in mixed marine stocks. The permit
would be valid for five years from the date of issuance.
Dated: November 23, 2015.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-30133 Filed 11-25-15; 8:45 am]
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