[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 14, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 55415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20698]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 073004A]


Endangered Species; File No. 1462

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

ACTION: Issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Inwater Research Group, Inc., 4160 
NE Hyline Dr., Jensen Beach, FL, has been issued 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.

ADDRESSES: The permit 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.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 18, 2004, notice was published in the 
Federal Register (69 FR 28122) that a request for a scientific research 
permit to take loggerhead, green, hawksbill and Kemp's ridley sea 
turtles had been submitted by the above-named organization. The 
requested permit has been issued 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 parts 222-226).
    Researchers will capture sea turtles using a large mesh tangle net. 
Animals will be measured, flipper and passive integrated transponder 
(PIT) tagged, weighed, blood sampled, photographed and released. 
Dietary samples will also be extracted from a subset of green sea 
turtles using a sampling technique called gastric lavage. This research 
will provide size frequency, disease rate, relative abundance and 
feeding ecology data on marine turtles utilizing the Lake Worth and the 
Indian River Lagoon Systems of Florida. Information collected from this 
study will benefit state and federal managers in the conservation of 
these marine turtle species. None of the activities are expected to 
result in mortality. The permit is valid for five years.
    Issuance of this permit, as required by the ESA, was based on a 
finding that such permit: (1) was applied for in good faith, (2) will 
not operate to the disadvantage of the endangered and threatened 
species which are the subject of this permit, and (3) is consistent 
with the purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the ESA.

    Dated: September 8, 2004.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-20698 Filed 9-13-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S