[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 27 (Friday, February 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 6223]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-2199]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 020507E]


Endangered Species; File No. 1447

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 the South Carolina Department of 
Natural Resources 217 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, South Carolina 
29412 [Responsible Party/Principal Investigator: Mark Collins, PhD], 
has been issued a permit to conduct scientific research on shortnose 
sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum).

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
    Protected Resources Division, Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th 
Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 
824-5309.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 09, 2003, notice was published 
in the Federal Register (68 FR 53140) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take shortnose sturgeon had been submitted by the 
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. 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 South Carolina Department of Natural Resources [Dr. Mark 
Collins, Principal Investigator], is authorized to sample and track 
shortnose sturgeon in South Carolina coastal waters. Annually, up to 
100 fish will be taken via gill nets, measured, weighed, PIT and Dart 
tagged, anaesthetized, and gastric lavaged. A subset of 50 fish will be 
fitted with radio/sonic transmitters and tracked during the study. 
Additionally, the researcher will deploy buffer pads as substrate to 
collect up to 100 sturgeon eggs annually to verify spawning 
periodicity. Two fish are authorized annually as unintentional 
mortality. The permit will terminate on February 28, 2012.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 the endangered species which is the subject of this 
permit, and (3) is consistent with the purposes and policies set forth 
in section 2 of the ESA.

    Dated: February 6, 2007.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-2199 Filed 2-8-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S