[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 17, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33209-33210]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15196]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG302
Endangered Species; File Nos. 18238, 21327 and 22123
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of applications for permits and a permit
modification.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that three applicants have applied in
due form for a permit or permit modification to take green (Chelonia
mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys
kempii), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and olive ridley (L. olivacea)
sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or
before August 16, 2018.
ADDRESSES: The application 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 the
applicable File No. 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 the 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 the application would be appropriate.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Hapeman (for File No. 18238-01) or
Erin Markin (for File Nos. 21327 and 22123), (301) 427-8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permits and permit modification
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. 18238-01: Permit No. 18238 issued on April 21, 2016 (81 FR
43589) authorizes the NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 8901 La
Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, (Responsible Party: Lisa
Ballance, Ph.D.,) to take green, loggerhead, and olive ridley sea
turtles for research in southern California waters. Researchers may
conduct vessel surveys for sea turtle counts, captures, examination,
observation, marking, biological sampling, tagging, and morphometrics.
The permit holder requests authorization to: (1) Increase the number of
green sea turtles that may be taken from 60 to 100 turtles annually to
accommodate an increase in survey effort needed to improve population
abundance estimates, and (2) extend the duration of the permit until
September 30, 2025.
File No. 21327: Raymond Carthy, Florida Cooperative Fish and
Wildlife Research Unit, USGS-BRD, P.O. Box 110485, Gainesville, FL
23611, proposes to continue research to determine (1) distribution and
abundance, (2) use of benthic habitats, (3) demographics and movement
patterns, and (4) human impacts for sea turtles in the Florida
Panhandle and Big Bend region of Florida. Up to 1720 green, 160
hawksbill, 285 Kemp's ridley, and 180 loggerhead sea turtles, annually,
may be harassed, but not captured, during
[[Page 33210]]
vessel surveys and when using a remotely operated vehicle to study
brumating behavior. Up to 540 green, 40 hawksbill, 210 Kemp's ridley,
and 130 loggerhead sea turtles would be captured, annually, by hand, or
dip, tangle, or strike net, marked, biologically sampled (blood,
tissue, scute), tagged (flipper and passive integrated transponder
[PIT]), measured, weighed, and photographed prior to release. A subset
of captured sea turtles would receive a satellite tag or a combination
of an acoustic and archival tag and a subset of green sea turtles would
be lavaged prior to release. The permit would be valid for 10 years
from the date of issuance.
File No. 22123: Jeffrey Schmid, Ph.D., Conservancy of Southwest
Florida, 1495 Smith Preserve Way, Naples, FL 34102, proposes to
continue long-term in-water studies of sea turtles inhabiting the
Charlotte Harbor and Ten Thousand Islands estuarine complexes on the
southwest coast of Florida to determine species composition, abundance,
size-class distribution, migration patterns, growth, habitat
preference, and site fidelity. Up to 60 Kemp's ridley and 30 loggerhead
sea turtles, annually, would be captured by strike net, biologically
sampled (blood, scute, tissue), tagged (PIT, flipper), transported to
and temporarily held in a facility for opportunistic fecal collection,
photographed, measured, and weighed prior to release. A subset of
captured Kemp's ridley and loggerhead sea turtles also would receive a
satellite tag or radio and sonic tags prior to release. Up to 20 green
sea turtles, annually, would be captured by strike net, biologically
sampled (blood, scute, tissue), tagged (PIT, flipper), photographed,
measured, weighed, and receive a satellite tag or radio and sonic tags
prior to release. Up to five hawksbill sea turtles, annually, would be
captured by strike net, biologically sampled (blood, scute, tissue),
tagged (PIT, flipper), photographed, measured, and weighed prior to
release. The permit would be valid for 10 years from the date of
issuance.
Dated: July 12, 2018.
Julia Marie Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-15196 Filed 7-16-18; 8:45 am]
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