[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21750-21751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8605]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB155


Endangered Species; File Nos. 16549 and 17095

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of applications.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish 
Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey; Box 796, 1 Migratory Way, 
Turners Falls, MA 01376, has applied in due form for a permit to take 
shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum); and also that Entergy 
Nuclear Operations Inc., 450 Broadway, Suite 3, Buchanan, NY 10511, has 
applied in due form for a permit to take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser 
brevirostrum) and Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) 
for purposes of scientific research.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before May 11, 2012.

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 
Nos. 16549 or 17095 from the list of available applications.
    These documents are also available 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
    Northeast Region, NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930; phone (978) 281-9328; fax (978) 281-9394.
    Written comments on either application should be submitted to the 
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division
     By email to [email protected] (include the File 
No. in the subject line of the email),
     by facsimile to (301) 713-0376, or
     at the address listed above.
    Those individuals requesting a public hearing should submit a 
written request to the Chief, Permits and Conservation Division at the 
address listed above. The request should set forth the specific reasons 
why a hearing on the application(s) would be appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Malcolm Mohead or Colette Cairns at 
(301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permits are requested under the 
authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the regulations

[[Page 21751]]

governing the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and 
threatened species (50 CFR 222-226).
    File 16549: The applicant is requesting authorization for a 
scientific research permit for takes of shortnose sturgeon in the wild 
and captivity. The applicant proposes to determine up and downstream 
migrations, habitat use, spawning periodicity, seasonal movements of 
shortnose sturgeon in the Connecticut River (from Agawam, MA to 
Montague, MA). The applicant also proposes captive animal research in 
laboratory tests of up- and downstream fish passage studies, swimming 
performance tests, tagging studies, anesthesiology, behavior, 
physiology and contaminant studies, as well as producing progeny for 
further research. Additionally, the applicant requests authorization to 
collect fertilized embryo from each of the following rivers: Merrimack 
River (MA), Kennebec River and Androscoggin River (ME). The permit 
would be valid for five years from the date of issuance.
    File 17095: The purpose of the research would be the monitoring of 
sturgeon abundance and distribution through the Hudson River Biological 
Monitoring Program (HRBMP). The action area includes the Hudson River 
from River Mile 0 (Battery Park, Manhattan, NY) to River Mile 152 at 
Troy Dam (Albany, NY). The focus of the monitoring program would be 
fish identification, mark and recapture, and enumeration within defined 
Hudson River regions and depth strata. Researchers would non-lethally 
capture, handle, measure, weigh, scan for tags, insert passive 
integrated transponder (PIT) and dart tags, photograph, tissue sample, 
and release up to 82 shortnose sturgeon and 82 Atlantic sturgeon 
annually. Additionally, researchers would be permitted each year to 
lethally collect up to 40 shortnose sturgeon and up to 40 Atlantic 
sturgeon eggs and/or larvae (ELS). The permit would be valid for five 
years from the date of issuance.

    Dated: April 5, 2012.
Tammy C. Adams,
Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-8605 Filed 4-10-12; 8:45 am]
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