[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 174 (Friday, September 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55194-55195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22116]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB155


Endangered Species; File No. 17095

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 Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc., 
450 Broadway, Suite 3, Buchanan, NY 10511 [Responsible Party: John 
Ventosa], has been issued a permit to take shortnose sturgeon 
(Acipenser brevirostrum) and Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus 
oxyrinchus) for 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, Conservation and Education 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.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 11, 2012, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (77 FR 21750) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take shortnose sturgeon and Atlantic sturgeon had 
been submitted by the above-named applicant. 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).
    The Permit Holder is issued a five-year permit to study shortnose 
sturgeon and Atlantic sturgeon in the Hudson River Estuary from New 
York Harbor (RKM 0) to Troy Dam (RKM 245). The research will monitor 
abundance and distribution of the sturgeon species through the Hudson 
River Biological Monitoring Program (HRBMP), focusing on fish 
identification, mark and recapture, and enumeration of sturgeon in 
defined Hudson River regions and at various depth strata. Researchers 
are authorized to non-lethally capture, handle, measure, weigh, scan 
for tags, insert passive integrated transponder and dart tags, 
photograph, tissue sample, and release up to 82 shortnose sturgeon and 
82 Atlantic sturgeon annually. Additionally, researchers are permitted 
to lethally collect up to 40 shortnose sturgeon and up to 40 Atlantic 
sturgeon early life stages annually. The permit would be valid for five 
years from the date of issuance.
    Issuance of this permit, as required by the ESA, was based on a 
finding that such permit (1) was applied for in good

[[Page 55195]]

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: September 4, 2012.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-22116 Filed 9-6-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P