[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 135 (Thursday, July 15, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 42426]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16061]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 070904D]


Endangered Species; Permit File No. 1260

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, Southeast Fisheries 
Science Center (SEFSC), 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FL 33149, has 
requested a modification to scientific research Permit No. 1260.

DATES: Written comments or requests for a public hearing must be 
received on or before August 16, 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
    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 must 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 
modification request would be appropriate.
    Comments may be submitted by facsimile to (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. They 
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. 1260 
Modification 6.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject modification request to Permit 
No. 1260, issued on June 29, 2001 (66 FR 34621), 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. 1260 authorizes the SEFSC to take loggerhead (Caretta 
caretta), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Kemp's ridley 
(Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), green 
(Chelonia mydas) and olive ridley (L. olivacea) sea turtles for 
scientific research. The SEFSC requests authorization to attach 
conventional or pop-up archival (PAT) tags on up to 15 leatherbacks 
which may be boated during the remainder of the Pelagic Longline 
Fishery Observers project. This tagging will not result in an increase 
in the number of animals taken as the SEFSC requests the activity be 
conducted on 15 of the leatherbacks that can already be sampled under 
the existing permit.
    Additionally, the SEFSC requests that all projects under Permit No. 
1260 include authority to handle, flipper and PIT tag, tissue sample 
and blood sample all turtles captured. The SEFSC also requests 
authority to have the option of deploying either PAT or conventional 
satellite tags via a tether attachment to the 20 loggerheads for which 
satellite tagging is already authorized under the existing Pelagic 
Longline Fishery Observers project. The SEFSC is currently authorized 
to deploy 20 conventional satellite tags using only the resin 
attachment method.
    This modification will assist the SEFSC with its population 
assessment research of sea turtles. It will help the SEFSC obtain 
estimates of survival for juveniles and adults in their benthic and 
pelagic environments and will provide a more thorough understanding of 
the spatial population structure of these species. The research will 
help identify foraging grounds and migration corridors, as well as 
determine how both juveniles and adults utilize habitat and are 
distributed in space and time. The permit expires June 30, 2006.

    Dated: July 9, 2004.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-16061 Filed 7-14-04; 8:45 am]
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