[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 25 (Monday, February 8, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 6184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2682]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XU00


Endangered Species; File No. 14754

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

ACTION:  Notice; receipt of application.

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SUMMARY:  Notice is hereby given that Isaac Wirgin, PhD, New York 
University School of Medicine, Department of Environmental Medicine, 
Tuxedo, NY 10987, has applied in due form for a permit to import and 
take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) early life stages 
(ELS) for purposes of scientific research.

DATES:  Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before March 10, 2010.

ADDRESSES:  The application and related documents are available for 
review by selecting ``Records Open for Public Comment'' from the 
Features box on the Applications and Permits for Protected Species 
(APPS) home page, https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/index.cfm, and then 
selecting File No. 14754 from the list of available applications. 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) 713-0376; and
     Northeast Region, NMFS, Protected Resources Division, 55 
Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930; phone (978) 281-9328; fax 
(978) 281-9394.
    Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this 
application should be mailed 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 request would be appropriate.
    Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at (301) 713-0376, 
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. 14754.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit 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).
    A scientific research permit application was submitted by Dr. Isaac 
Wirgin of the New York University School of Medicine, Department of 
Environmental Medicine, to conduct research on Atlantic and shortnose 
sturgeon. Dr. Wirgin is requesting to conduct a study to determine if 
early life-stages of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon are sensitive to 
PCB mixtures such that the effects would impact recruitment success in 
the environment, such as in the Hudson River. He needs an ESA permit to 
import and take up to 25,000 fertilized shortnose sturgeon eggs of 
Saint John River ancestry from Acadian Sturgeon and Caviar Inc., Saint 
John, NB, Canada. If required, shortnose sturgeon eggs could also be 
supplemented with embryos of Connecticut River descent obtained from 
the Conte Lab, USGS, Turner Falls, MA (NMFS Permit 1549-01).
    The initial proposed research would take place during two sampling 
seasons beginning in the spring of 2010 and ending in the spring of 
2011. In subsequent years of the permit, studies would take place 
evaluating toxic effects of other contaminants. The permit would not 
authorize any takes from the wild, nor would it authorize any release 
of captive sturgeon into the wild.

    Dated: February 2, 2002.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-2682 Filed 2-5-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S