[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 29, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6072-6073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01852]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XB155


Endangered Species; File No. 17095-01

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for a permit modification.

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

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc., 
450 Broadway, Suite 3, Buchanan, NY 10511, has requested a modification 
to scientific research Permit No. 17095 authorizing scientific research 
on endangered shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) and Atlantic 
sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus).

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before February 28, 2013.

ADDRESSES: The modification request and related documents are available 
for review by selecting ``Records Open for

[[Page 6073]]

Public Comment'' from the Features box on the Applications and Permits 
for Protected Species (APPS) home page, https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/, 
and then selecting File No. 17095-01 from the list of available 
applications. These documents are also available 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
    Northeast Region, NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930; phone (978)281-9328; fax (978)281-9394.
    Written comments on this application should be submitted to the 
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, at the address listed above. 
Comments may also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 713-0376, or by 
email to [email protected]. Please include the File No. 17095-
01 in the subject line of the email comment.
    Those individuals requesting a public hearing should submit a 
written request to the Chief, Permits and Conservation Division at the 
address listed above. The request should set forth the specific reasons 
why a hearing on the application(s) would be appropriate.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject modification to Permit No. 
17095, issued on April 11, 2012 (77 FR 21750), is requested under the 
authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (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).
    Permit No. 17095 currently authorizes the Permit Holder to: Monitor 
shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon abundance and distribution through the 
Hudson River Biological Monitoring Program (HRBMP) in the Hudson River 
from River Mile 0 (Battery Park, Manhattan, NY) to River Mile 152 at 
Troy Dam (Albany, NY). 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 eggs and/or larvae 
(ELS) annually.
    To account for a higher than expected catch per tow sampling 
performed authorized under Permit No. 17095, the Permit Holder now 
wishes to increase the takes authorized for of juvenile, sub-adult and 
adult Atlantic sturgeon to 200 fish per year. Take would not exceed a 
total of 600 Atlantic sturgeon captured over the permit life. The 
Permit Holder also requests that the sampling activities for juvenile, 
sub-adult and adult shortnose sturgeon and Atlantic sturgeon be 
expanded to include upper New York Harbor (~River Mile -2.0). The 
amount of lethal collection of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon ELS 
would remain the same. The modification would be valid until the permit 
expires August 28, 2017.

    Dated: January 23, 2013.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-01852 Filed 1-28-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P