[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 24 (Thursday, February 5, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5508-5509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2417]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 013004E]


Endangered Species; File No.1295

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Receipt of application for modification

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the NMFS Northeast Fisheries 
Science Center (Responsible Official- Dr. John Boreman), 166 Water 
Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1097, has requested a modification to 
scientific research Permit No. 1295.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments must be received on or before 
March 8, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The modification request and related documents are available 
for review upon written request or by appointment in the following 
offices:
    Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 
20910; phone (301)713-2289; fax (301)713-0376; and
    Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-
2298; phone (978)281-9200; fax (978)281-9371.
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this request 
should be submitted to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 
Division, F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West 
Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals 
requesting a hearing should set forth the specific reasons why a 
hearing on this particular modification request would be appropriate.
    Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301)713-0376, 
provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy

[[Page 5509]]

submitted by mail and postmarked no later than the closing date of the 
comment period. Please note that comments will not be accepted by e-
mail or other electronic media.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Opay, (301)713-1401 or Ruth 
Johnson, (301)713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject modification request to Permit 
No. 1295, issued on June 4, 2001 (66 FR 29934) is requested under the 
authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.) and the regulations governing the taking, importing, and 
exporting of endangered and threatened species (50 CFR 222-226).
    Permit No. 1295 authorizes the permit holder to take 5 loggerhead 
(Caretta caretta), 1 leatherback (Dermochelys imbricata), 2 Kemp's 
ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), 1 hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and 
2 green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles for scientific research. The 
permit holder requests authorization: (1) to allow research designed to 
develop and test methods to reduce incidental bycatch that occurs in 
commercial pound net and scallop drag fisheries, and (2) to authorize 
sampling of turtles captured incidentally during the NEFSC biennial 
shark longline surveys. The permit holder proposes to take an 
additional 113 loggerhead, 2 green, 40 Kemp's ridley, and 2 leatherback 
sea turtles annually during the remaining 2 years of the permit. 
Turtles will be measured, flipper and PIT tagged, biopsied and 
released. A total of up to 4 loggerhead and 3 Kemp's ridley sea turtle 
interactions are expected to result in lethal takes. The research will 
be conducted in the shelf waters of the Atlantic Ocean from Cape 
Hatteras to the Gulf of Maine.

    Dated: January 30, 2004.
Amy C. Sloan,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-2417 Filed 2-4-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S