[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 137 (Monday, July 19, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42970-42971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16359]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 071204B]


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, Florida 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 18, 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 particular 
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. 
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. 1260 Modification-hoop net study.

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

[[Page 42971]]

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 (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles 
for scientific research. The SEFSC is requesting authorization to 
annually capture, measure, weigh, flipper and PIT tag, tissue biopsy, 
blood sample and release an additional 100 leatherback, 120 loggerhead, 
100 green, 50 hawksbill, 50 Kemp's ridley and 20 olive ridley sea 
turtles. A subset of 20 of the leatherbacks, 20 of the loggerheads, 20 
of the greens, 20 of the hawksbills, 20 of the Kemp's ridleys and 5 of 
the olive ridleys captured annually will also have satellite 
transmitters attached to them. Turtles will be captured using a hoop 
net.
    The research will help the SEFSC obtain estimates of survival for 
juveniles and adults in their benthic and pelagic environments, 
identify foraging grounds and migration corridors, and determine how 
both juveniles and adults utilize habitat and are distributed in space 
and time. The research will help NMFS better understand these sea 
turtle species' roles in their ecosystems and provide information that 
can improve our ability to conserve and manage them.

    Dated: July 13, 2004.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-16359 Filed 7-16-04; 8:45 am]
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