[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 43 (Monday, March 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13097-13098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5307]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB053


Endangered Species; File Nos. 15661, 10027, and 15685

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

ACTION: Issuance of permits and permit modification.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued two permits and 
one permit modification to take green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill 
(Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles for scientific research. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for information regarding permittees.

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
    Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Rm. 1110, 
Honolulu, HI 96814-4700; phone (808) 944-2200; fax (808) 973-2941.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 11, 2011, notice was published in the 
Federal Register (76 FR 27306) that a request for a scientific research 
permit to take green and hawksbill sea turtles had been submitted by 
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Division of 
Fish and Wildlife, (Arnold Palacios, Responsible Party). On June 15, 
2011, notice was published in the Federal Register (76 FR 34967) that a 
request for a scientific research permit modification to take green sea 
turtles had been submitted by the Center for Biodiversity and 
Conservation, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH; Responsible 
Party: Eleanor Sterling, Ph.D.). On June 20, 2011, notice was published 
in the Federal Register (76 FR 35842) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take green and hawksbill sea turtles had been 
submitted by the NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC; 
Samuel Pooley, Ph.D., Responsible Party). The requested permits and 
permit modification 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). 
The following summarizes each permit.
    The CNMI was issued a five-year permit, No. 15661, to conduct 
research on sea turtles to characterize population structure, size 
class composition, foraging ecology, and migration patterns for green 
and hawksbill sea turtles in the Northern Mariana Islands. Authorized 
research consists of counts and hand captures of sea turtles during 
vessel surveys. Captured sea turtles may be measured, weighed, flipper 
tagged, passive integrated transponder (PIT) tagged, temporarily 
marked, tissue sampled, photographed, and released. A subset of the 
turtles may be satellite tagged before release and then tracked from 
the vessel. A small number of sea turtle carcasses, tissues or parts 
may be opportunistically salvaged each year.
    The AMNH was issued a modification to Permit No. 10027-03, 
originally issued on July 30, 2008 (73 FR 44224). Permit No. 10027-03 
authorized the AMNH to study the population biology and connectivity of 
green and hawksbill sea turtles focusing on distribution and abundance, 
ecology, health, and threats to sea turtles at the Palmyra Atoll in the 
Pacific Ocean. This modification, Permit No. 10027-04, increases the 
number of green sea turtles taken during research and the number of 
green sea turtles that may be sonic tagged annually. These data will 
help determine if temporal, stage-specific, or sex-specific movement 
patterns exist for the population of sea turtles at Palmyra. The 
modified permit expires on July 31, 2013.
    The PIFSC was issued a five-year permit, No. 15685, to continue 
long-term monitoring of green and hawksbill sea turtles in the Hawaiian 
Islands to determine growth rates, health status, stock and population 
structure, foraging ecology, habitat use, and movements. Researchers 
may capture, measure, flipper and PIT tag, weigh, biologically sample 
(tissue, blood, scute, and lavage), and attach transmitters to green 
and hawksbill sea turtles before release.
    Issuance of the permits, as required by the ESA, was based on a 
finding that such permits (1) were applied for in

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good faith, (2) will not operate to the disadvantage of such endangered 
or threatened species, and (3) are consistent with the purposes and 
policies set forth in section 2 of the ESA.

    Dated: February 28, 2012.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-5307 Filed 3-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P