[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 197 (Thursday, October 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 61745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25011]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC058


Endangered Species; File No. 16803

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 NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science 
Center (SWFSC), 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, 
[Responsible Party: Lisa Ballance, Ph.D.] has been issued a permit to 
take green (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and olive 
ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles 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 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
    Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long 
Beach, CA 90802-4213; phone (562) 980-4001; fax (562) 980-4018.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 11, 2012, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (77 FR 34349) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take loggerhead, green, and olive ridley sea turtles 
had been submitted by the above-named organization. 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 SWFSC has been issued a 5-year permit to take sea turtles in 
San Diego Bay, California. The purpose of the work is to determine 
their abundance, size ranges, growth, sex ratio, health status, diving 
behavior, local movements, habitat use, and migration routes. Up to 50 
green, five olive ridley, and five loggerhead sea turtles may be 
captured annually by entanglement or seine netting and have the 
following procedures performed before release: Photography/video; 
carapace marking; flipper tagging and passive integrated transponder 
tagging; ultrasound; morphometrics; tetracycline injection; fecal, 
scute, blood and tissue sampling; cloacal and oral swabbing; lavage; 
and attachment of up to two transmitters. Animals with transmitters may 
be tracked by vessel after release.
    Issuance of this permit, as required by the ESA, was based on a 
finding that such permit (1) Was applied for in good 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: October 5, 2012.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-25011 Filed 10-10-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P