[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68398-68399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-22472]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 092105B]


Endangered Species; File No. 1420; File No. 1543; File No. 1545; 
and File No. 1549

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of applications and modification request

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SUMMARY: NMFS has received applications from the following entities for 
permits or permit modifications for scientific research on shortnose 
sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum):
    Dr. Douglas Peterson, Warnell School of Forest Resources (Fisheries 
Division), University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 (Permit No. 1420);
    Duke Power Company (Gene E. Vaughan, Principal Investigator), 
Catawba-Wateree Hydropower Relicensing Project, Mail Code EC 12Y, P.O. 
Box 1006, Charlotte, NC 28201 (File No. 1543);
    North Carolina Zoological Park (John D. Groves, Principal 
Investigator), 4401 Zoo Parkway, Asheboro, NC 27205 (File No. 1545); 
andDr. Boyd Kynard, S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center (USGS-
BRD), Box 796, One Migratory Way, Turners Falls, MA 01376 (File No. 
1549).

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before December 12, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The applications and related documents are available for 
review upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
    All documents: 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;
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 
33701; phone (727)824-5312; fax (727)824-5309; and
    For File No. 1549: Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930-2298; phone (978)281-9328; fax (978)281-9394.
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing on these 
applications 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 the 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: 
either Permit No. 1420, File No. 1543, File No. 1545, File No. 1549.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Guan, (301)713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permits and modifications 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 222-226).
    File No. 1420: A notice of receipt of an application from Dr. 
Douglas Peterson to conduct scientific research on shortnose sturgeon 
was published on March 11, 2003 (68 FR 11533). On September 2, 2004, a 
scientific research permit was issued to Dr. Peterson to conduct 
scientific research on shortnose sturgeon (69 FR 55797). The permit 
authorizes Dr. Peterson to capture, measure, weigh, passive integrated 
transponder (PIT) and Carlin tag, tissue sample, and release up to 200 
adult sturgeon annually from Altamaha River, Georgia. Additionally, Dr. 
Peterson is authorized to internally radio-sonic tag up to 30 sturgeon 
annually. Dr. Peterson now proposes to increase the annual capture of 
sturgeon from 200 to 1,000 due to a revised population assessment 
suggesting that the shortnose sturgeon population in the Altamaha River 
is probably at least ten times larger than previously thought. This 
permit expires on September 30, 2009.
    File No. 1543: Duke Power Company proposes to conduct a study of 
shortnose sturgeon in the Wateree River, South Carolina, as part of the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's 2008 relicensing process for the 
Company's Catawba-Wateree Hydropower Project. State and federal 
regulatory agencies have requested a shortnose sturgeon use-survey of 
the Wateree River. Three shortnose sturgeon would be captured annually 
via gill nets set every other week in the early spring along the 
Wateree River when water temperatures are 9 - 15 oC. Captured fish 
would be weighed, measured, scanned for PIT tags, and released. 
Untagged fish would be tagged by the South Carolina Department of 
Natural Resources. The permit is requested for a duration of 5 years, 
begining in February 2006.
    File No. 1545: The North Carolina Zoologist Park has requested 
authorization to obtain and use ten captive-bred, non-releaseable 
shortnose sturgeon from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Warm 
Springs National Fish Hatchery for the purposes of educational display. 
The proposed project of displaying endangered cultured shortnose 
sturgeon responds directly to a recommendation from the NMFS recovery 
outline for this species. This sturgeon display would be used to 
increase public awareness of the shortnose sturgeon and its status. The 
proposed project would educate the public on shortnose sturgeon life 
history and the reasons for its declining numbers. The permit is 
requested for a duration of 5 years.
    File No. 1549: Dr. Boyd Kynard of the S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish 
Research Center proposes to conduct scientific research to determine up 
and downstream migrations, habitat use, spawning periodicity, seasonal 
movements, and growth of shortnose sturgeon in the Connecticut River 
from

[[Page 68399]]

Agawan to Montague, MA, and in the Merrimack River at Haverhill, MA. 
From the Connecticut River, a maximum of 500 adult and large juvenile 
shortnose sturgeon would be captured by gill nets, measured, PIT 
tagged, and released annually. A subset of 40 fish would also be radio 
tagged, and a subset of 6 of the aforementioned radio tagged fish would 
also receive temperature-depth tags. A maximum of 16 male and female 
adults would be captured annually with gill nets, tested for habitat 
use and movements in the lab, and subsequently released for 3 years. A 
maximum of 12 male and female adults would be captured with gill nets 
annually, lab tested for spawning, and released. A maximum of 40 adult 
males would be captured with gill nets, tested in flume studies to 
develop downstream passage, and released. A maximum of 100 young-of-
the-year, 100 yearling, and 300 small juvenile of the same species 
would also be captured by gill nets, measured, PIT tagged, and released 
annually. A subset of 20 yearling and 20 small juveniles from the 
aforementioned 100 fish would also be radio tagged. A maximum of 400 
egg-embryo-larva would be taken lethally for spawning evaluation 
annually. In the Merrimack River, a maximum of 40 adults annually would 
be captured with gill nets, PIT tagged, a subset of 10 radio tagged, 
and released. A maximum of 40 egg-embryo-larva would be lethally taken 
for spawning studies. In addition, Dr. Kynard proposes to take a total 
of 1000 fertilized eggs annually from each of the following rivers: 
Androscoggin River, ME; Kennebec River, ME; Merrimack River, MA; Hudson 
River, NY; Delaware River, DE; Potomac River, MD; and Santee-Cooper 
River, SC. The permit is requested for a duration of 5 years.

    Dated: November 4, 2005.
Patrick Opay,
Acting Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-22472 Filed 11-9-05; 8:45 am]
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