[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 52535]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14661]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 082206A]


Endangered Species; File No. 1563

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 North Carolina Division of Marine 
Fisheries (NCDMF; Mr. Blake Price, Principal Investigator), P.O. Box 
769, Morehead City, North Carolina 28557, has been issued a permit to 
take threatened and endangered 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, 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: Carrie Hubard or Patrick Opay, 
(301)713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 17, 2006, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (71 FR 13816) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia 
mydas), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill (Eretmochelys 
imbricata), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) 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 NCDMF will be testing two types of large mesh gillnets to 
ascertain which type of net will reduce sea turtle interactions while 
maintaining targeted catch rates for southern flounder (Paralichthys 
lethostigma). Both nets will be constructed of 0.52 mm diameter 
monofilament with 6-inch (15.2 cm) mesh webbing, but the control net is 
25 meshes deep while the low profile net is twelve meshes deep. Control 
nets have additional floatation every six feet (1.8 m) and tie downs 
every 30 feet (9.1 m); experimental nets have neither. NCDMF plans to 
conduct 150 paired net deployments (one of each type of net). To follow 
fishing protocols, nets will be set at dusk and retrieved in the early 
morning. Captured sea turtles will be examined for any possible 
injuries and held for approximately two hours to ensure they are 
healthy before being transported away from the fishing area and 
released. Turtles will be identified to species, measured, 
photographed, and flipper and PIT tagged. Any comatose or debilitated 
turtles will be transported to a rehabilitation center. During the life 
of the permit, the applicant is authorized to capture 23 Kemp's ridley, 
23 loggerhead, 22 green, 2 hawksbill, and 2 leatherback sea turtles. Of 
the captured turtles, 11 Kemp's, 11 loggerhead, 11 green, 1 hawksbill, 
and 1 leatherback may be mortalities. Research will be conducted in 
Pamlico Sound, North Carolina and the permit expires in December 2007.
    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 29, 2006.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-14661 Filed 9-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S