[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21751-21752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8707]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB152


Endangered Species; File No. 16645

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Georgia Department of Natural 
Resources (GA DNR) has applied in due form for a permit pursuant to the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). The permit 
application is for the incidental take of ESA-listed shortnose 
(Acipenser brevirostrum) and Atlantic sturgeon (A. oxyrinchus) 
associated with the otherwise lawful commercial shad fishery in 
Georgia. The duration of the proposed permit is 10 years. NMFS is 
furnishing this notice in order to allow other agencies and the public 
an opportunity to review and comment on the application materials. All 
comments received will become part of the public record and will be 
available for review.

DATES: Written comments must be received at the appropriate address or 
fax number (see ADDRESSES) on or before June 11, 2012.

ADDRESSES: The application is available for download and review at 
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/esa_review.htm under the section 
heading ESA Section 10(a)(1)(B) Permits and Applications.
    The application is also available upon written request or by 
appointment in the following office: Endangered Species Division, 
Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 
13626, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301) 427-8403; fax (301) 713-
4060.
    You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-
2012-0090, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov. To 
submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, first click the ``submit a 
comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2012-0090 in the keyword search. 
Locate the document you wish to comment on from the resulting list and 
click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on the right of that line.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Endangered Species 
Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, 
Room 13626, Silver Spring, MD 20910; Attn: Kristy Beard or Angela 
Somma.
     Fax (301) 713-4060; Attn: Kristy Beard or Angela Somma.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above 
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and 
considered by NMFS. Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the 
sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will 
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you 
wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be 
accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 
formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristy Beard or Angela Somma at (301) 
427-8403.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9 of the ESA and Federal regulations 
prohibit the ``taking'' of a species listed as endangered or 
threatened. The ESA defines ``take'' to mean harass, harm, pursue, 
hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to 
engage in any such conduct. NMFS may issue permits, under limited 
circumstances, to take listed species incidental to, and not the 
purpose of, otherwise lawful activities. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA 
provides for authorizing incidental take of listed species. NMFS 
regulations governing permits for threatened and endangered species are 
promulgated at 50 CFR 222.307.

Background

    NMFS received a draft permit application from GA DNR on September 
12, 2011. Based on a review of the application, NMFS requested further 
information. The applicant submitted a complete application on March 6, 
2012 for take of ESA-listed shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon that may be 
caught incidental to the Georgia shad fishery. The State of Georgia has 
amended their commercial fishing regulations for the Georgia shad 
fishery to minimize the incidental capture of ESA-listed shortnose and 
Atlantic sturgeon. The

[[Page 21752]]

new regulations restrict fishing to the lower portions of the Savannah, 
Ogeechee, and Altamaha Rivers and close the fishery in the Satilla and 
St. Mary's River. The Georgia shad fishery is open from January 1 to as 
late as April 30 each year, but would typically end March 31. Georgia 
regulations require that sturgeon captured in shad nets must be 
released unharmed into the waters from which they were taken. GA DNR 
would use a combination of a trip ticket system (self-reporting by 
fishermen) and direct observations to monitor the number of sturgeon 
incidentally captured each month in the commercial shad fishery.
    GA DNR requests 3-year running averages for takes to account for 
the potential for a high-take year before or after low-take years. GA 
DNR estimates that incidental bycatch would not exceed 175 shortnose 
sturgeon per year (no more than 525 in a 3-year period) and 140 
Atlantic sturgeon per year (no more than 420 in a 3-year period) in the 
Altamaha River, 75 shortnose sturgeon per year (no more than 225 in a 
3-year period) and 50 Atlantic sturgeon per year (no more than 150 in a 
3-year period) in the Savannah River, and 10 shortnose sturgeon per 
year (no more than 30 in a 3-year period) and 10 Atlantic sturgeon per 
year (no more than 30 in a 3-year period) in the Ogeechee River. A 
mortality rate of approximately 2.3 percent is anticipated based on 
recent research.

Conservation Plan

    GA DNR's conservation plan describes measures designed to minimize, 
monitor, and mitigate the incidental take of ESA-listed sturgeon. The 
conservation plan includes Georgia's amended commercial fishing 
regulations for the Georgia shad fishery, which are expected to 
minimize the bycatch of sturgeon by closing to shad fishing sections of 
the rivers that previously had the highest bycatch rates. These 
closures would also protect known and suspected sturgeon spawning 
sites. Georgia regulations require that sturgeon captured in shad nets 
be released unharmed into the waters from which they were taken. GA DNR 
would use a combination of a trip ticket system (self-reporting by 
fishermen) and direct observations to monitor the incidental take of 
sturgeon in the commercial shad fishery. Other monitoring or mitigation 
actions will be undertaken as required. Monitoring would be funded by 
GA DNR's Annual Operating Budget.
    GA DNR considered and rejected two other alternatives: (1) No 
change to commercial shad regulations, and (2) establishing new upper 
boundaries for commercial shad fishing on the Altamaha and Savannah 
rivers, while completely closing the Ogeechee, Satilla, and St. Mary's 
rivers to commercial shad fishing.

National Environmental Policy Act

    Issuing a permit would constitute a Federal action requiring NMFS 
to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.) as implemented by 40 CFR parts 1500-1508 and NOAA 
Administrative Order 216-6, Environmental Review Procedures for 
Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (1999). NMFS intends 
to prepare an Environmental Assessment to consider a range of 
reasonable alternatives and fully evaluate the direct, indirect, and 
cumulative impacts likely to result from issuing a permit.

Next Steps

    This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA. NMFS 
will evaluate the application, associated documents, and comments 
received during the comment period to determine whether the application 
meets the requirements of section 10(a) of the ESA. If NMFS determines 
that the requirements are met, a permit will be issued for incidental 
takes of ESA-listed sturgeon. The final NEPA and permit determinations 
will not be made until after the end of the comment period. NMFS will 
publish a record of its final action in the Federal Register.

    Dated: April 5, 2012.
Lisa Manning,
Acting Chief, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of 
Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-8707 Filed 4-10-12; 8:45 am]
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