[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 25, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38013-38014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15085]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA425


Endangered Species; File No. 15661

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for a permit modification

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands (CNMI) Department of Lands and Natural Resources, PO 
Box 10007, Saipan, MP 96950 (Arnold Palacios, Responsible Party), has 
requested a modification to scientific research Permit No. 15661.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before July 25, 2013.

ADDRESSES: The modification request and related documents are available 
for review by selecting ``Records Open for 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. 15661 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
    Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Rm 1110, 
Honolulu, HI 96814-4700; phone (808) 944-2200; fax (808) 973-2941.
    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. 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 this application would be appropriate.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject modification to Permit No. 
15661, issued on January 24, 2012 (77 FR 13097) 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 222-226).
    Permit No. 15661 authorizes the permit holder to characterize 
population structure, size class composition, foraging ecology, and 
migration patterns for green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill 
(Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles in the Northern Mariana Islands 
(NMI). Authorized research consists of counts and hand captures of sea 
turtles during vessel surveys. Captured sea turtles may be measured, 
weighed, flipper and passive integrated transponder tagged, temporarily 
marked, tissue sampled, photographed and released. A subset of the 
turtles may be satellite tagged before release and then tracked from 
the vessel. Sea turtle carcasses, tissues or parts may be 
opportunistically salvaged each year.
    The permit holder now requests authorization to collect blood and 
scute samples from up to 20 green and 20 hawksbill sea turtles per 
year, a subset of those currently authorized for capture. This sampling 
would allow for analysis of a broad suite of environmental pollutants 
that may be threatening the health of sea turtles in the NMI. All other 
research objectives, capture methods, take numbers, action areas, and 
activities would remain unchanged. The modification would be

[[Page 38014]]

valid until the permit expires on January 31, 2017.

    Dated: June 19, 2013.
P. Michael Payne,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-15085 Filed 6-24-13; 8:45 am]
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