[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 96 (Tuesday, May 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28122-28123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-11227]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 051004J]


Endangered Species; File No. 1462

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 Inwater Research Group, Inc., 4160 
NE Hyline Dr., Jensen Beach, FL, has applied in due form for a permit 
to take loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill 
(Eretmochelys imbricata), and Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea 
turtles for purposes of scientific research.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before June 17, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The application and related documents are available for 
review

[[Page 28123]]

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
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive North, St. 
Petersburg, FL 33702-2432; phone (727)570-5301; fax (727)570-5320.
    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 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 email comments is [email protected]. Include in the 
subject line of the e-mail comment the following document identifier: 
File No. 1462.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Opay or Ruth Johnson, 
(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 proposed to annually capture 100 loggerhead, 150 
green, 25 hawksbill and 25 Kemp's ridley sea turtles using a large mesh 
tangle net in the waters of Lake Worth and the Indian River Lagoons of 
Florida. Animals will be measured, flipper and passive integrated 
transponder (PIT) tagged, weighed, blood sampled and released. Dietary 
samples will also be extracted from a subset of 40 green sea turtles 
annually using a sampling technique called lavage. This research will 
provide size frequency, disease rate, relative abundance and feeding 
ecology data on marine turtles utilizing Lake Worth and the Indian 
River Lagoon System of Florida. Information collected from this study 
will benefit state and federal managers in the conservation of these 
marine turtle species. The applicant requests a 5 year permit.

    Dated: May 12, 2004.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-11227 Filed 5-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S