[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 160 (Friday, August 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47778-47779]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-13692]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 080306B]


Endangered Species; File No. 1572

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 Amanda Southwood, Department of 
Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 
601 S. College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 has been issued a 
permit to take loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), 
and Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) 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 office(s):
    Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected 
Resources,

[[Page 47779]]

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

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 12, 2006, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (71 FR 18726) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take loggerhead, green, and Kemp's ridley sea 
turtles had been submitted by the above-named individual. 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 purpose of the research is to assess the physiological response 
of loggerhead, green, and Kemp's ridley sea turtles to entanglement in 
fishing gear, identify post-release mortality events, and integrate 
these data to assess the feasibility of using biochemical indices as 
predictors of post-release mortality. The research will also provide 
information on the movements of sea turtles utilizing the lower Cape 
Fear River, North Carolina. Researchers would annually capture up to 15 
loggerhead, 25 green, and 5 Kemp's ridley sea turtles for a 3-year 
period using gillnets. Animals would be measured, weighed, blood 
sampled, passive integrated transponder tagged, satellite transmitter 
tagged, VHF tagged and tracked, have their cloacal body temperature 
taken, and be released. The level of post-release mortality of turtles 
that are part of the physiological stress portion of the research may 
be high and reach up to 30 percent (9 animals per year or 27 over the 
course of the permit, all species combined). The principal investigator 
believes that current fishery mortality estimates are too high; 
therefore the study is being permitted for one year to gain a better 
understanding of actual mortality levels. Research after year one is 
contingent on the results of the first year and will only be authorized 
if NMFS determines further research is warranted and can be justified.
    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: August 14, 2006.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-13692 Filed 8-17-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S