[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 21, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67332-67333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19652]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 110606C]


Endangered Species; File No. 1578

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

ACTION:  Notice; issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY:  Maine Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) (Gail S. 
Wippelhauser, Principal Investigator), 21 State House Station, Augusta, 
ME, 04333 has been issued a permit to take shortnose sturgeon 
(Acipenser brevirostrum) 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:
    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
    Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-
2298; phone (978)281-9300; fax (978)281-9394.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 16, 2006, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (71 FR 34896) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take shortnose sturgeon had been submitted by the 
above-named organization. The requested permit has

[[Page 67333]]

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).
    Researchers will capture 500 sturgeon annually from the Kennebec 
River using gillnets. Sturgeon will be measured, weighed, tissue 
sampled, Passive Integrated Transponder tagged, and released. A sample 
of sturgeon will be acoustic tagged. Researchers will also sample for 
eggs and larvae. The permit is issued for five-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: November 15, 2006.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-19652 Filed 11-20-06; 8:45 am]
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