[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58566-58567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-23741]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN: 0648-XJ28


Endangered Species; File No. 13330

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

ACTION: Issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Southeast Fisheries Science 
Center (SEFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 75 Virginia 
Beach Drive Miami, Florida 33149, has been issued a permit to take 
smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) for purposes of scientific 
research.

ADDRESSES: The permits 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
    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 Jennifer Skidmore, 
(301)713-2289.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 2, 2008, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (73 FR 17955) that a request for scientific 
research permit to take smalltooth sawfish had been submitted by the 
above-named institution. 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 research will be conducted each year over the course of a five-
year permit in coastal waters of Florida. Up to 45 smalltooth sawfish 
will be taken annually using nets and hook and line gear. Researchers 
will conduct a variety

[[Page 58567]]

sampling and tagging activities in order to collect biological and 
ecological information on these species that will help efforts to 
conserve them. Up to 2 loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and one green 
(Chelonia mydas) or hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) or leatherback 
(Dermochelys coriacea) or Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea 
turtle, and one American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) could be 
lethally taken during the smalltooth sawfish research.
    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 such endangered or threatened 
species, and (3) is consistent with the purposes and policies set forth 
in section 2 of the ESA.

    Dated: October 1, 2008.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-23741 Filed 10-6-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S