[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 156 (Monday, August 15, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47813-47814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16059]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 080105B]


Endangered Species; File No. 1540

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the South Carolina Department of 
Natural Resources, Marine Resources Division, P.O. Box 12559, 
Charleston, SC 29422-2559, has applied in due form for a permit to take 
loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), 
green (Chelonia mydas), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and 
hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles for purposes of 
scientific research.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before September 14, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The application 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, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 
(301) 713-2289; fax (301) 427-2521; and
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 
33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 824-5309.
    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,

[[Page 47814]]

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, 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. 1540.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is 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 
222-226).
    The purpose of the proposed action is a continuation of Permit No. 
1245 documentation of in-water relative abundances, size distributions, 
sex ratios, genetic contributions, and the health of sea turtles in 
coastal waters in the southeastern U.S. Up to 350 loggerhead, 50 Kemp's 
ridley, 10 green, 3 leatherback, and 5 hawksbill sea turtles would be 
captured annually using trawls. Turtles would be handled, blood 
sampled, measured, flipper and PIT tagged, photographed and 
subsequently released. A subsample of animals would have barnacles and 
keratin removed from their shells, have cloacal samples taken, be 
laproscopic and ultrasound examined, and have satellite transmitters 
attached to them. Up to 4 loggerhead, 1 Kemp's ridley, 1 green, 3 
leatherback, and 5 hawksbill sea turtles may be accidentally killed 
during the research. The permit would be issued for 5 years.

    Dated: August 5, 2005.
Jennifer Skidmore,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-16059 Filed 8-12-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S