[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8767-8768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-3441]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 021405A]


Endangered Species; File No. 1522; Permit No. 1356

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

ACTION:  Receipt of application and modification request.

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SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that the following applicants have 
applied in due form for a permit (File No. 1522) or modification to a 
permit (Permit No. 1356) to take loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green 
(Chelonia mydas) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research:
    Kenneth J. Lohmann, Department of Biology, Wilson Hall, 
CB3280, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel 
Hill, NC 27599 (File No. 1522);
    Inwater Research Group Inc., 4160 NE Hyline Dr., Jensen Beach, FL 
34957 (Permit No. 1356).

DATES:  Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments on the new application 
and amendment requests must be received on or before March 25, 2005.

ADDRESSES:  The applications and related documents are available for 
review 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)427-2521; 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 also be submitted by facsimile at (301)427-2521, 
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. 1522 or Permit No. 1356.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit and amendment are 
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 222-227).

Application for Permit

    File No. 1522 Kenneth Lohmann: This applicant proposes to conduct 
two studies. The first would study the magnetic orientation of 
hatchlings migrating offshore. Loggerhead and green sea turtle 
hatchlings would have a lightweight float attached to them and they 
would be tracked by boat as they migrate offshore. At the conclusion of 
each test, researchers would recapture each turtle to remove the 
experimental gear and then release the turtle so that it could continue 
its migration.
    The second study would investigate the navigation of adult 
loggerhead sea turtles. The study would have two experiments. The first 
would involve simple displacement involving releases at sites that lie 
in various directions and distances from the nesting beach so that the 
tracks could be analyzed in the context of magnetic topography and 
other potential cues.
    The second would involve determining if disrupting the magnetic 
field around a displaced turtle impairs its ability to home. Two groups 
of turtles would be released at the same location, one with magnets or 
magnetic coils attached to their heads, the other with non-magnetic 
brass bars of equivalent size and weight attached to their heads (the 
control). Turtles would be tracked using a floating instrument attached 
to the turtle by means of a six meter long tether consisting of a 7-day 
corrodible link attached to a meter-long thin, stiff rod and five 
meters of very stiff stainless steel fishing leader. While the tether 
set-up would be removed on the beach after the turtle returns to nest, 
in the event that the researchers are unable to recapture the turtle on 
a nesting beach they are requesting authorization from NMFS to 
recapture her at sea and remove the tether equipment.

[[Page 8768]]

Application to Modify Permit No. 1356

    Permit No. 1356 - Inwater Research Group, Inc.: The existing permit 
allows the take of green, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley and hawksbill 
turtles to study the demographic composition and genetic origin of sea 
turtles within the Key West National Wildlife Refuge, Florida. The 
permit holder requests a modification to the permit to attach satellite 
transmitters to a subset of the green sea turtles already authorized to 
be captured. The Holder also requests authority to conduct sampling all 
months of the year and to modify their study area to include a 30 
kilometer area south, west and north of the Marquesas Keys.

    Dated: February 16, 2005.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-3441 Filed 2-22-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S