[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 9, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 74708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29132]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XM14


Endangered Species; File No. 1547

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

ACTION:  Notice; receipt of application for modification.

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SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that the New York State Department of 
Environmental Conservation (Kathryn Hattala, Principal Investigator), 
21 South Putt Corners Road; New Paltz, NY 12561, has requested a 
modification to scientific research Permit No. 1547-01.

DATES:  Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before January 8, 2009.

ADDRESSES:  The application 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.
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this request 
should be submitted to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 
Division, F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West 
Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals 
requesting a hearing should set forth the specific reasons why a 
hearing on this particular modification request would be appropriate.
    Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301)427-2521, 
provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and 
postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period.
    Comments may also be submitted by e-mail. The mailbox address for 
providing e-mail comments is [email protected]. Include in the 
subject line of the e-mail comment the following document identifier: 
File No. 1547.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject modification to Permit No. 1547-
01, issued on March 22, 2007, is requested 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 222-226).
    The permit holder is currently authorized under Permit No. 1547-01 
to conduct scientific research to evaluate seasonal movement of 
shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) in the Haverstraw and 
Newburgh Bays of the Hudson River. Annually, a maximum of 500 adult and 
juvenile shortnose sturgeon are captured with gill nets, measured, 
weighed, genetic tissue sampled, scanned for tags, PIT and Carlin 
tagged (if untagged), and released. The applicant proposes to annually 
perform anesthesia and gastric lavage on up to 200 fish. The researcher 
also requests an unintentional mortality of one shortnose sturgeon 
annually. The goal of the additional research would be to document the 
diet of shortnose sturgeon occupying the same habitat as Atlantic 
sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus) in the lower Hudson River. 
This modification would be valid through the expiration date of the 
original permit, October 31, 2011. All other aspects of the currently 
permitted activity would remain the same.

    Dated: December 4, 2008.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-29132 Filed 12-8-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S