[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 113 (Monday, June 14, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 32994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13201]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 060204G]


Endangered Species; File No. 1236

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 Virginia Institute of Marine 
Science (VIMS) (Gloucester Point, VA 23062) [Dr. John Musick, Principal 
Investigator], has requested a modification to scientific research 
Permit No. 1236.

DATES:  Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before July 14, 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 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. 1236.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Carrie Hubard or Patrick Opay, 
(301)713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject modification to Permit No. 1236, 
issued on October 10, 2000 (65 FR 62709) and modified on April 17, 2001 
(66 FR 21912) 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. 1236 authorizes the permit holder to conduct two sea 
turtle research projects, one in the Chesapeake Bay and coastal waters 
of Virginia and the other in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). The USVI 
project focuses on the habitat utilization of juvenile hawksbill 
(Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles at the Buck Island Reef National 
Monument off St. Croix. The Chesapeake Bay project studies the inter-
nesting movements of sea turtles in Virginia via satellite telemetry 
and to assess the effects of beach replenishment on turtle activities. 
Both studies capture, handle, tag (PIT, flipper, satellite, radio and 
acoustic), collect biological samples (via humeral bone biopsy, blood 
samples and laparoscopy) and release loggerhead (Caretta caretta), 
green (Chelonia mydas), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill 
and leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea). Permit No. 1236 expires 
on July 31, 2005.
    The permit holder requests authorization to hold a maximum of 20 of 
the loggerhead turtles that are already subject animals in the 
Chesapeake Bay project for up to one week to study turtle interactions 
with whelk pots. In an effort to reduce entanglement by sea turtles in 
the whelk pot fishery, VIMS proposes to test the ways in which turtles 
interact with various whelk pot designs. Healthy turtles will be 
transported to VIMS and maintained in indoor tanks until testing. 
During experimentation, a single turtle will be placed in an outdoor 
tank with one of the whelk pot designs, rigged and baited to imitate 
the fishery protocols. Observers will be present at all times to record 
turtle behavior. If a turtle becomes entangled for more than five 
minutes, the observer will disentangle the animal and the experiment 
will be concluded for the day. Turtles will have a day's rest between 
experiments and thus will interact with three designs over the course 
of a week. Turtles will be fed, examined, and monitored by a staff 
veterinarian. Once the experiment is complete turtles will be released. 
Currently VIMS is authorized to sample 100 loggerheads annually. The 
twenty turtles used in the whelk pot study will be a subset of those 
turtles. There is no increase in the number of loggerhead turtles 
captured under the permit. This modification would be valid through the 
life of the permit.

    Dated: June 4, 2004.
Patrick Opay,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-13201 Filed 6-10-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S