[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 9 (Thursday, January 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 2348]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-659]



[[Page 2348]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA140
[File No. 15596]


Endangered Species

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

ACTION: Issuance of permit.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that North Carolina Aquarium at Fort 
Fisher, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 
Kure Beach, NC, 28449 [Hap Fatzinger, Responsible Party] has been 
issued a permit to take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for 
purposes of enhancement.

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) 713-0376 and;
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Ave South, St. Petersburg, FL 
33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 824-5309.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 5, 2010, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (75 FR 61424) that a request for an enhancement 
permit to take shortnose sturgeon had been submitted by the North 
Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. 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 North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher has been issued a permit 
to continue enhancement activities previously authorized under Permit 
No. 1273. Activities include the continued maintenance and educational 
display of five captive-bred, non-releaseable adult shortnose sturgeon. 
The permit does not authorize any takes from the wild, nor does it 
authorize any release of captive sturgeon into the wild. The permit is 
issued for a duration of 5 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 such endangered or threatened 
species, and (3) is consistent with the purposes and policies set forth 
in section 2 of the ESA.

    Dated: January 7, 2011.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-659 Filed 1-12-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P