[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24469-24470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9859]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB168


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Receipt of two applications for scientific research and 
enhancement permits.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received two scientific 
research and enhancement permit application requests relating to 
salmonids listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposed 
research activities are intended to increase knowledge of the species 
and to help guide management and conservation efforts. The applications 
and related documents may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm. These 
documents are also available upon written request or by appointment by 
contacting NMFS by phone (916) 930-3600 or fax (916) 930-3629.

DATES: Written comments on the permit applications must be received at 
the appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 
p.m. Pacific standard time on May 24, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on either application should be submitted 
to the Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 650 Capitol Mall, Suite 5-
100, Sacramento, CA 95814. Comments may also be submitted via fax to 
(916) 930-3629 or by email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Cranford, Sacramento, CA (ph.: 
916-930-3706, email: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Species Covered in This Notice

    This notice is relevant to federally threatened California Central 
Valley steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), threatened Central Valley 
spring-run Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), endangered Sacramento River 
winter-run Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), and threatened Southern 
Distinct Population Segment of North American green sturgeon (Acipenser 
medirostris).

Authority

    Scientific research permits are issued in accordance with section 
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1543) and regulations 
governing listed fish and wildlife permits(50 CFR parts 222-226). NMFS 
issues permits based on findings that such permits: (1) Are applied for 
in good faith; (2) if granted and exercised, would not operate to the 
disadvantage of the listed species which are the subject of the 
permits; and (3) are consistent with the purposes and policies set 
forth in section 2 of the ESA. The authority to take listed species is 
subject to conditions set forth in the permits.
    Anyone requesting a hearing on the applications listed in this 
notice should set out the specific reasons why a hearing on the 
application(s) would be appropriate (see ADDRESSES). Such hearings are 
held at the discretion of the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 
NMFS.

Applications Received

Permit 14808

    The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) is requesting a 
5-year scientific research and enhancement permit to take juvenile 
California

[[Page 24470]]

Central Valley steelhead, juvenile Central Valley spring-run Chinook 
salmon, juvenile Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, and 
juvenile Southern Distinct Population Segment North American green 
sturgeon associated with research activities at two different sites in 
the upper Sacramento River. Application 14808 was previous noticed in 
the Federal Register (75 FR 14134) with a 30 day comment period from 
March 24, 2010, to April 23, 2010. No comments were received for this 
application, however due to substantial changes to the sampling 
locations and the amount take NMFS decided to publish the revised 
notice for public comment. In the studies described below, researchers 
do not expect to kill any natural origin listed fish but a small 
number, up to two percent, may die as an unintended result of the 
research activities. A sub-sample of hatchery produced winter-run 
Chinook salmon (up to 40 per day) may experience intentional (directed) 
mortality and be retained by CDFG for coded wire tag retrieval and 
reading.
    Monitoring efforts are conducted in order to compile information on 
timing, composition (species/race), and relative abundance of 
emigrating juvenile Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead from 
the upper Sacramento River system into the Sacramento-San Joaquin 
Delta. This information provides an early warning of salmonid movement 
into the Delta, enabling the implementation of adaptive management 
practices to protect juveniles as they enter and pass through the 
Delta.
    Sampling will occur through the use of paired 8-foot rotary screw 
traps at two different sites along the upper Sacramento River. The 
first site, located near the town of Knights Landing (river mile (RM) 
88.5) will be sampled beginning in October and continue through June of 
the following year. Traps will be fished continuously and checked once 
every 24 hours unless conditions warrant more frequent sampling. 
Captured salmonids will be: Anesthetized, handled (including fork 
length and wet weight measurements), allowed to recover, and released 
back into the river with the exception of up to 40 adipose fin clipped 
Chinook salmon that will be retained for coded wire tag processing. 
Sampling at Tisdale Weir (RM 120) will follow the same methods as 
described above, however sampling will occur year round from January 
through December.

Permit 13791

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is requesting a 3-year 
scientific research and enhancement permit to take juvenile California 
Central Valley steelhead, juvenile Central Valley spring-run Chinook 
salmon, juvenile Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, and 
juvenile Southern Distinct Population Segment North American green 
sturgeon associated with research activities at monitoring sites in the 
Sacramento River basin and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. 
Application 13791 was previously noticed in the Federal Register (73 FR 
70622) with a 30-day comment period from November 21, 2008, to December 
22, 2008. No comments were received for this application, however due 
to substantial changes in the sampling procedures and the amount take 
NMFS decided to publish the revised notice for public comment. In the 
studies described below, researchers do not expect to kill any natural 
origin listed fish but a small number, up to three percent, may die as 
an unintended result of the research activities. All hatchery origin 
Chinook salmon with clipped adipose fins are assumed to be implanted 
with a coded wire tag. In order to retrieve and read these tags, all 
adipose fin clipped Chinook salmon captured during sampling will be 
sacrificed and retained for processing.
    The Stockton Fish and Wildlife Office's Delta Juvenile Fish 
Monitoring Program (DJFMP) monitors the abundance, temporal and spatial 
distribution, and survival of juvenile salmonids and other fishes 
occurring within the lower Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and the 
San Francisco Estuary. The Breach III Project documents the occurrence 
and habitat use of ESA-listed fishes within Liberty Island, a tidally 
influenced freshwater marsh currently undergoing passive restoration, 
located within the San Francisco Estuary. The fish monitoring data 
collected by the DJFMP and the Breach III Project are intended to 
provide basic biological and population information on fishes of 
management concern, including the ESA listed winter- and spring-run 
Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead. Further, data can be used 
by natural resource managers to evaluate the effectiveness of water 
operations, aquatic habitat restoration, and fish management practices 
within the San Francisco Estuary and its watershed. As a result, take 
of ESA listed salmonids will likely occur while sampling using a 
variety of methodologies (e.g. fyke nets, multi-mesh gill nets, larval 
fish trawls, mid-water trawls, Kodiak trawls, and beach seines). 
Captured fish will be identified to species or race, measured for fork 
length to the nearest millimeter, and released back into the sampled 
location. Scale samples will also be taken from a sub-sample of natural 
origin Chinook salmon to assist the University of California, Davis 
with their genetic research in the Yolo Bypass.

    Dated: April 19, 2012.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-9859 Filed 4-23-12; 8:45 am]
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