[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 9 (Monday, January 14, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2659-2660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00553]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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: Issuance of permit.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Georgia Department of Natural 
Resources (GA DNR) has been issued a permit for the incidental take of 
shortnose (Acipenser brevirostrum) and Atlantic sturgeon (A. 
oxyrinchus) associated with the otherwise lawful commercial shad 
fishery in Georgia.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment in the following office:
    Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13626, Silver Spring, MD 
20910; phone (301) 427-8403; fax (301) 713-4060.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 11, 2012, notice was published in 
the Federal Register (77 FR 21751) that a request for a permit for the 
incidental take of shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon associated with the 
otherwise lawful commercial shad fishery in Georgia had

[[Page 2660]]

been submitted by GA DNR. 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 authorizes take of ESA-listed shortnose and Atlantic 
sturgeon that are caught incidental to the Georgia commercial shad 
fishery. Incidental capture by fisherman will not exceed 140 shortnose 
sturgeon per year (no more than 420 in a 3-year period) and 140 
Atlantic sturgeon per year (no more than 420 in a 3-year period) in the 
Altamaha River, 70 shortnose sturgeon per year (no more than 210 in a 
3-year period) and 35 Atlantic sturgeon per year (no more than 110 in a 
3-year period) in the Savannah River, and 5 shortnose sturgeon per year 
(no more than 20 in a 3-year period) and 5 Atlantic sturgeon per year 
(no more than 20 in a 3-year period) in the Ogeechee River. Mortalities 
of incidentally captured sturgeon will not exceed 3 shortnose sturgeon 
per year or 8 per 3-year period and 3 Atlantic sturgeon per year or 5 
per 3-year period in the Altamaha River, 2 shortnose sturgeon per year 
or 6 per 3-year period and 1 Atlantic sturgeon per year or 1 per 3-year 
period in the Savannah River, and 1 shortnose sturgeon per year or 1 
per 3-year period and 1 Atlantic sturgeon per year or 1 per 3-year 
period in the Ogeechee River. The State of Georgia has amended its 
commercial fishing regulations for the Georgia commercial shad fishery 
to minimize the incidental capture of ESA-listed shortnose sturgeon and 
the South Atlantic, Carolina, Chesapeake Bay, New York Bight, and Gulf 
of Maine DPSs of Atlantic sturgeon. The 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. In addition, GA DNR will 
implement measures described in the conservation plan that accompanies 
the permit to minimize, monitor, and mitigate the incidental take of 
ESA-listed sturgeon. The conservation plan includes continued 
implementation of 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. In addition to 
sturgeon incidentally captured by fisherman, GA DNR is also expected to 
incidentally capture sturgeon during monitoring of the shad run. GA DNR 
will set drift nets in the Altamaha River during the fishing season to 
monitor the shad run and approximate the rate of incidentally captured 
shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon. Up to 10 shortnose and 10 Atlantic 
sturgeon will be captured during annual monitoring activities in the 
Altamaha River, with no more than 50 shortnose sturgeon and 50 Atlantic 
sturgeon captured during any three consecutive years. No mortalities 
are anticipated. GA DNR will insert passive integrated transponder 
(PIT) tags and collect genetic samples from Atlantic sturgeon 
incidentally captured during monitoring in order to better determine 
what DPSs of Atlantic sturgeon are being captured in the fishery.
    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: January 9, 2013.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-00553 Filed 1-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P