[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1203-1205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00139]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC426


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Issuance of five scientific research permits.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued Permit 14808 to 
the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), Permit 15573 to the 
Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID), Permit 16543 to the California 
Department of Water Resources (CDWR), Permit 13791 to the United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and Permit 17077 to Dr. Peter Moyle 
with the University of California, Davis (UCD).

ADDRESSES: The approved application for each permit is available on the 
Applications and Permits for Protected Species (APPS), https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov Web site by searching the permit number within the 
Search Database page. The applications, issued permits and supporting 
documents are also available upon written request or by appointment: 
Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 650 Capitol Mall, Room 5-100, 
Sacramento, CA 95814 (phone: (916) 930-3600, fax: (916) 930-3629).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Cranford at 916-930-3706, or 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority

    The issuance of permits and permit modifications, as required by 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1543) (ESA), is 
based on a finding that such permits/modifications: (1) Are applied for 
in good faith; (2) 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

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ESA. Authority to take listed species is subject to conditions set 
forth in the permits. Permits and modifications are issued in 
accordance with and are subject to the ESA and NMFS regulations (50 CFR 
parts 222-226) governing listed fish and wildlife permits.

Species Covered in This Notice

    This notice is relevant to federally endangered Sacramento River 
(SR) winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhyncus tshawytscha), threatened 
Central Valley (CV) spring-run Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), 
threatened California Central Valley (CCV) steelhead (O. mykiss), and 
threatened southern distinct population segment (SDPS) of North 
American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), henceforth referred to 
as ESA-listed salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon.

Permits Issued

Permit 14808

    A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research 
permit (14808) was published in the Federal Register on April 24, 2012 
(77 FR 24469). Permit 14808 was issued to CDFG on September 26, 2012 
and expires on December 31, 2017.
    Permit 14808 is for research to be conducted at two different sites 
within the upper Sacramento River, California. The main purpose of the 
research conducted by CDFG is to monitor the outmigration of juvenile 
salmonids on a real-time basis and provide daily summaries of timing, 
abundance and size distribution of salmonids in the Sacramento River at 
two different sites before they enter the Delta. Data can then be 
forwarded to various water agencies for better management decisions and 
to reduce frequency of ESA-listed fish entrainment. Permit 14808 
authorizes capture (by rotary screw trap), anesthetizing, handling 
(fork length measurements and wet weights), and release of smolt and 
juvenile SR winter-run and CV spring-run Chinook salmon, adult and 
juvenile CCV steelhead and juvenile SDPS green sturgeon downstream of 
the trapping location.
    Permit 14808 authorizes non-lethal take and low levels (not to 
exceed two percent) of unintentional lethal take. Permit 14808 also 
authorizes intentional, directed lethal take of smolt and juvenile 
adipose fin-clipped, hatchery produced, SR winter-run Chinook salmon 
for coded wire tag retrieval and processing.

Permit 15573

    A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research 
and enhancement permit renewal (15573) was published in the Federal 
Register on December 15, 2010 (75 FR 78226). Permit 15573 was issued to 
GCID on October 5, 2012 and expires on December 31, 2017.
    Permit 15573 is for research to be conducted in an oxbow of the 
Sacramento River, immediately downstream of the Hamilton City Pumping 
Plant, Glenn County, California. The primary objectives to which ESA-
listed salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon may be taken are to collect 
emigration data as a reference and research tool to provide short-term 
monitoring specifically related to restoration actions and long-term 
monitoring to detect annular and cyclic population changes. Take 
activities associated with research on smolt and juvenile ESA-listed 
salmonids and juvenile SDPS green sturgeon include the following: 
capture (by rotary screw trap), anesthetizing, and release of fish 
downstream of the trapping location.
    Permit 15573 authorizes non-lethal and low levels (not to exceed 
two percent) of unintentional lethal take of smolt and juvenile ESA-
listed salmonids and juvenile SDPS green sturgeon. Permit 15573 does 
not authorize any intentional lethal take of ESA-listed salmonids and 
SDPS green sturgeon.

Permit 16543

    A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research 
and enhancement permit (16543) was published in the Federal Register on 
July 18, 2012 (77 FR 42278). Permit 16543 was issued to CDWR on October 
22, 2012 and expires on December 31, 2014.
    Permit 16543 is for research to be conducted in the Sacramento-San 
Joaquin Delta, California. The primary objectives to which ESA-listed 
salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon may be taken are to provide 
information on spatial and environmental patterns of predation; 
critical information for guiding future restoration projects on 
conditions likely to support or discourage higher predation rates on 
ESA-listed and native fishes. Take activities associated with research 
on adult ESA-listed salmonids and both juvenile and adult SDPS green 
sturgeon include the following: capture (by trammel net), handling 
(species identification and enumeration), and release of fish 
downstream of the capture location.
    Permit 16543 authorizes CDWR non-lethal take of adult ESA-listed 
salmonids and both juvenile and adult SDPS green sturgeon. Permit 16543 
does not authorize any unintentional or intentional lethal take of ESA-
listed salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon.

Permit 13791

    A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research 
and enhancement permit (13791) was published in the Federal Register on 
April 24, 2012 (77 FR 24469). Permit 13791 was issued to USFWS on 
October 23, 2012 and expires on December 31, 2015.
    Permit 13791 is for research to be conducted in the Sacramento 
River basin and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California. The 
primary objectives to which ESA-listed salmonids and SDPS green 
sturgeon may be taken by the USFWS' Delta Juvenile Fish Monitoring 
Program and the Breach III Project are to provide basic biological and 
population information on fishes of management concern. Additionally, 
data collected 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 (SFE) and 
its watershed. Take activities associated with research on juvenile 
ESA-listed salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon include the following: 
capture (by fyke nets, multi-mesh gill nets, larval fish trawls, 
midwater trawls, Kodiak trawls, electrofishing and beach seines), 
handling (species and race identification and enumeration, fork-length 
measurements, tissue/scale samples if applicable), and release of fish 
downstream of the capture location.
    Permit 13791 authorizes non-lethal take and low levels (not to 
exceed 12.5 percent) of unintentional lethal take. Permit 13791 also 
authorizes intentional, directed lethal take of smolt and juvenile 
adipose fin-clipped, hatchery produced, SR winter-run and CV spring-run 
Chinook salmon for coded wire tag retrieval and processing.

Permit 17077

    A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research 
and enhancement permit (17077) was published in the Federal Register on 
August 24, 2012 (77 FR 51520). Permit 17077 was issued to Dr. Peter 
Moyle on November 26, 2012 and expires on December 31, 2015.
    Permit 17077 is for research to be conducted in three distinct 
regions across the SFE: the Cache-Lindsay Slough complex, the Sherman 
Lake

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complex, and Suisun Marsh. The primary objectives to which ESA-listed 
salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon may be taken by Dr. Moyle are to 
determine the extent that native fishes use intertidal and subtidal 
shallow water and marsh (SWM) habitats in the northern arc of the SFE 
and to understand how fishes commonly inhabiting Suisun Marsh use the 
Sacramento River corridor to access SWM habitats that are not currently 
surveyed in Sherman Lake, Cache Slough and Lindsey Slough. Further, Dr. 
Moyle will model fish abundance and assembly using biophysical habitat 
data (including slough geomorphology, hydrology, and water quality) to 
guide restoration projects that will successfully support native fishes 
and discourage aliens.
    Permit 17077 authorizes non-lethal take and low levels (not to 
exceed 20 percent, equivalent to one fish) of unintentional lethal take 
of adult and juvenile ESA-listed salmonids and both adult and juvenile 
SDPS green sturgeon. Permit 17077 does not authorize any intentional 
lethal take of ESA-listed salmonids or SDPS green sturgeon.

Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-00139 Filed 1-7-13; 8:45 am]
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