[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 90 (Monday, May 10, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 25882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-10566]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 050404A]


Endangered Species; File No. 1432

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

ACTION: Receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr. Jeanette Wyneken, Assistant 
Professor, Florida Atlantic University, Dept. of Biological Sciences, 
777 Glades Rd., Boca Raton, FL 33431, has applied in due form for a 
permit to take loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) for purposes of 
scientific research.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before June 9, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for 
review upon written request or by appointment in the following 
office(s):
    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
    Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources, Southeast 
Region, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive North, St. Petersburg, FL 
33702-2432; phone (813)570-5301; fax (813)570-5517.
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this 
application should be mailed 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 request would be appropriate.
    Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301)713-0376, 
provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and 
postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period.
    Comments may also be submitted by e-mail. The mailbox address for 
providing e-mail comments is [email protected]. Include in the 
subject line of the e-mail comment the following document identifier: 
File No. 1432.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ruth Johnson or Jennifer Jefferies, 
(301)713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is 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 
222-226).
    The applicant proposes to take up to 30 loggerhead sea turtle 
hatchlings per site at 10 sites (Onslow Beach, Kiawah Island, Hilton 
Head Island, Wassaw Island, Melbourne Beach, Hutchinson Island, Juno 
Beach, Boca Raton, Sanibel/Captiva and vicinity including waters near 
Ft. Meyers, and Sarasota) for scientific research. Turtles will be 
captured on the beach under permits issued by the States of North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and attached with a 
``Witherington Float.'' The floats used to track loggerheads are 2 
inches (5 cm) long and [frac3s4] inches (1.9 cm) deep and shaped like a 
racing sailboat hull. The hull is hollowed and fitted with a flattened 
piece of split-shot in the bottom and a small eye formed of wire sunk 
to the balsa wood to attach one end of a cotton thread. The ``deck'' is 
hollowed out and holds a very small cynalume (cold chemical glow stick) 
and the hull is painted black. The cynalume is only visible from the 
top. The float is tethered with a thin cotton sewing thread and the 
other end of the thread tether (approx. 10 ft or 3 m long) is attached 
to the turtle by slip knot around the shell behind the foreflippers. 
The thread will break away and fall off in about two hours in 
saltwater. Turtles will be released at water's edge and followed to 
determine survivability. Turtles that are not lost to predators will be 
recaptured, the tether removed and released. The objective of this 
study is to document spatial variability in hatchling survivorship and 
provide revised values for other life stages.

    Dated: May 4, 2004.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-10566 Filed 5-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S