[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 5 (Monday, January 9, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 1062]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-146]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA900


Endangered Species; File No. 16146

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

ACTION: Issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Kristen Hart, Ph.D., U.S. 
Geological Survey, Southeast Ecological Science Center, Davie Field 
Office, Davie, FL has been issued a permit to take loggerhead (Caretta 
caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys 
imbricata) sea turtles for the purposes of scientific research.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:
    Permits and Conservation 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 Ave South, St. Petersburg, FL 
33701; phone (727) 824-5312; fax (727) 824-5309.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 25, 2011, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (76 FR 44306) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take loggerhead, green, and hawksbill sea turtles 
had been submitted by the above-named individual. 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).
    Dr. Hart is authorized to study green, hawksbill, and loggerhead 
sea turtles at Buck Island Reef National Monument, U.S. Virgin Islands. 
The purposes of the research are to determine species-specific habitat-
use patterns over time, increase understanding of genetic stock 
structure, and estimate vital rates and local population abundance of 
sea turtles. Researchers may visually count sea turtles during vessel 
surveys or capture animals by hand, rodeo, dip net, tangle net or cast 
net for sampling and tagging. Captured sea turtles may have the 
following procedures performed: epibiota removal, lavage, temporary 
carapace marking, flipper and passive integrated transponder tagging, 
measuring, photograph, recapture, blood sampling, fecal sampling, 
tissue biopsy, and weighing. A subset of animals also may be tagged 
with satellite tags and data loggers (epoxy attachments) and/or 
acoustic transmitters (epoxy or drill carapace and attach with wire). 
The permit is valid for five 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: December 27, 2011.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-146 Filed 1-6-12; 8:45 am]
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