[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2663-2664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-795]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA135


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Notice of issuance of permits.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has issued permit 13675 to Fishery Foundation of 
California [Responsible Party: Karen L. Burr], 8698 Elk Grove Blvd., 
Suite 3, Elk Grove, CA 95624; and permits 14685 and 14688 to 
Natural Resource Scientists, Incorporated [Responsible Party: Dave A. 
Vogel], P.O. Box 1210, Red Bluff, CA 96080; for purposes of scientific 
research.

ADDRESSES: Permits and related documents are available for review upon 
written request or by appointment in the following office(s): Permits, 
Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
NMFS, 13415 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; 
phone (301) 713-2289; fax (301) 427-2521; and NMFS, Protected Resources 
Division, 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 5-100, Sacramento, CA 958914-4706; 
phone (916) 930-3600; fax (916) 930-3629.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shirley Witalis at phone number (916) 
930-3606, or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is relevant to federally 
endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus 
tshawytscha), threatened Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon (O. 
tshawytscha), threatened Central Valley steelhead (O. mykiss), and 
threatened Southern Distinct Population Segment of North American green 
sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris). Permits 13675, 14685, and 14688 have 
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).

Permits

    Permit 13675 was issued to Fishery Foundation of California on 
December 28, 2010, authorizing the capture (by fyke net and beach 
seine), handling (species identification and enumeration, taking of 
length measurements), and release of ESA-listed natural and hatchery 
juvenile Chinook salmon and steelhead, and natural juvenile green 
sturgeon while carrying out a study measuring fish response to 
restoration actions, and initial and successional habitat conditions at 
the Fremont Landing Conservation Bank on the Sacramento River in the 
Central Valley, California. Permit 13675 authorizes indirect mortality 
associated with research activities not to exceed 2 percent of captured 
ESA-listed Chinook salmon and steelhead species annually. No indirect 
mortality has been authorized for green sturgeon. Permit 13675 expires 
on October 31, 2015.
    Permit 14685 was issued to Natural Resource Scientists, 
Incorporated on August 24, 2010, authorizing the observation (snorkel 
surveys), capture (by rotary screw trap and beach seine), handling 
(application of anesthesia, species identification and enumeration, 
taking of weight and length measurements), and release of adult and 
juvenile steelhead associated with monitoring and research on 
anadromous salmonid spawning and rearing habitats, migration timing and 
survival in the lower Merced River. Permit 14685 authorizes indirect 
mortality associated with research activities not to exceed 2 adult and 
5 juvenile ESA-listed

[[Page 2664]]

steelhead annually. Permit 14685 expires on December 31, 2015.
    Permit 14688 was issued to Natural Resource Scientists, 
Incorporated on September 21, 2010, authorizing the capture (by fyke 
net), handling (identification and enumeration of species, taking of 
length measurements), tissue sampling, release of moribund fish or fish 
carcasses back into irrigation diversion canals, and release of live 
fish on the riverside of the canals of ESA-listed juvenile salmonids 
and sturgeon. Permit 14688 authorizes non-lethal take during the 
collection of physical, hydraulic, and habitat data at five irrigation 
diversion canals; the research of fish entrainiment in relation to 
diverted river flows; and the development of prioritization criteria 
for fish screening projects. Permit 14688 expires on December 31, 2011.
    NMFS has determined that take levels authorized in the described 
permits will not jeopardize listed Chinook salmon, steelhead, and green 
sturgeon nor result in the destruction or adverse modification of 
critical habitat where described. NMFS' conditions in the permits will 
ensure that the take of ESA-listed anadromous fish will not jeopardize 
the continued existence of the listed species. Issuance of each 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 
any endangered or threatened species, and (3) is consistent with the 
purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the ESA.

    Dated: January 10, 2011.
Therese Conant,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-795 Filed 1-13-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P