[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 152 (Monday, August 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 48146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20074]



[[Page 48146]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA620


Endangered Species; File No. 1551

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for permit modification.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS, Southeast Fisheries Science 
Center (SEFSC), 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FL 33149 (Responsible 
Party: Bonnie Ponwith), has requested a modification to scientific 
research Permit No. 1551-02.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or 
before September 7, 2011.

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, and then selecting File 
No. 1551-03 from the list of available applications.
    These documents are also available 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) 427-8401; fax (301) 713-0376; and
    Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL 
33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 824-5309.
    Written comments on this application should be submitted to the 
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, at the above 
address. Comments may also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 713-0376, 
or by e-mail to [email protected]. Please include the File No. 
in the subject line of the e-mail comment.
    Those individuals requesting a public hearing should submit a 
written request to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 
Division at the address listed above. The request should set forth the 
specific reasons why a hearing on this application would be 
appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Hapeman or Carrie Hubard, (301) 
427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject modification to Permit No. 1551-
02 is requested under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (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).
    Permit No. 1551, issued on July 24, 2008 (73 FR 44225), authorizes 
research on loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), 
Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), olive ridley (Lepidochelys 
olivacea), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and leatherback 
(Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles in coastal and inshore waters of the 
North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Turtles may be taken 
by harassment during aerial and vessel surveys and direct capture. 
Researchers may also access animals legally captured incidental to 
fishing activities. Researchers are authorized to conduct a variety of 
sampling and tagging activities in order to collect biological and 
ecological information on these species that will aid conservation of 
the species.
    The SEFSC requests a modification to the permit to increase the 
number of sea turtles (an additional 75 leatherback, 1,150 loggerhead, 
75 green, 100 Kemp's ridley, and 900 unidentified hardshell sea turtles 
annually) that may be harassed during aerial surveys. This work would 
assess potential injury from Mississippi Canyon 252 oil on sea turtle 
populations in the northern Gulf of Mexico as part of the post-spill 
Natural Resources Damage Assessment of the BP Deepwater Horizon event. 
The modification would be valid through July 1, 2013.

    Dated: August 2, 2011.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-20074 Filed 8-5-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P