[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17451-17452]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-5026]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 011306B]


Endangered Species; File No. 1552

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

ACTION:  Notice; issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that NMFS, Southeast Fisheries Science 
Center (SEFSC), 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida 33149 has been 
issued a permit to take green (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead (Caretta 
caretta), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill (Eretmochelys 
imbricata), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), olive ridley 
(Lepidochelys olivacea), and unidentified hardshell 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:

[[Page 17452]]

    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 Ave South, St. Petersburg, FL 
33701; phone (727)824-5312; fax (727)824-5309.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 19, 2005 notice was published in 
the Federal Register (70 FR 60796) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take green, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, hawksbill, 
leatherback, olive ridley, and unidentified hardshell 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).
    The SEFSC will handle, measure, weigh, photograph, flipper tag, 
passive integrated transponder tag, skin biopsy, and release green, 
loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, hawksbill, leatherback, olive ridley, and 
unidentified hardshell (combination of green, loggerhead, Kemp's 
ridley, hawksbill, olive ridley, or hybrids that would not be able to 
be identified at the time of capture) sea turtles. In addition, a 
limited number of turtle carcasses (including tissues or parts from 
them) will be collected annually from the fisheries or activities for 
which incidental lethal take has been previously authorized. The 
applicant will sample turtles captured incidentally during other 
activities including the shark gillnet fishery, longline fisheries, the 
shrimp trawl fishery, and surveys during oil/gas platform removal. The 
capture will be authorized by the incidental take statements of the 
biological opinions or section 10(a)(1)(B) permits that cover these 
activities. The research will provide data on the turtles that interact 
with these activities and provide data useful to better understanding 
turtle migration, habitat use, genetics, and population dynamics. The 
information will be used to develop, implement, and evaluate 
conservation recovery efforts for sea turtles. The research will take 
place in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and their 
tributaries. The permit is issued for 5 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 any endangered or threatened 
species, and (3) is consistent with the purposes and policies set forth 
in section 2 of the ESA.

    Dated: March 31, 2006.
Stephen L. Leathery,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-5026 Filed 4-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S