[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14504-14505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4159]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 031606C]


Endangered Species; File No. 1571

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Southeast Fisheries Science 
Center (SEFSC), NMFS, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida 33149, 
has applied in due form for a permit to take green (Chelonia mydas), 
loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), 
hawsbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), olive ridley (Lepidochelys 
olivacea), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles for 
purposes of scientific research.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before April 21, 2006.

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, Room 13705, 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, 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. 1571.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Opay or Amy Hapeman, (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 research would use resource assessment cruises as a platform to 
fill in data gaps in the basic biology of sea

[[Page 14505]]

turtles, provide information on population dynamics to improve stock 
assessments, and to better understand the distribution of turtles in 
time and space. Turtles that are incidentally captured during resource 
assessment cruises would be used by the SEFSC in their assessments of 
distribution and abundance of turtles, as well as the cumulative impact 
of the relevant fishery on the stocks. The incidental capture would 
accrue to and be authorized by the fisheries being researched. The 
SEFSC would annually handle, identify, examine, measure, weigh, 
photograph, flipper tag, passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag, skin 
biopsy, and release or salvage the carcass, tissue, and parts of up to 
6 green, 17 loggerhead, 8 Kemp's ridley, 6 hawksbill, 6 olive ridley, 6 
unidentified hardshell, and 17 leatherback sea turtles. Research would 
occur in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and their 
tributaries. The permit would be issued for five years.

    Dated: March 16, 2006.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-4159 Filed 3-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S