[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 214 (Wednesday, November 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65624-65627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26243]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD595


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Applications for three new scientific research permits, one 
permit modification, and seven research permit renewals.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received 11 scientific 
research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon, 
sturgeon, rockfish, and eulachon. The proposed research is intended to 
increase knowledge of species listed under the Endangered Species Act 
(ESA) and to help guide management and conservation efforts. The 
applications may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm.

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DATES: Comments or requests for a public hearing on the applications 
must be received at the appropriate address or fax number (see 
ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Pacific standard time on December 5, 
2014.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the applications should be sent to the 
Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 1100, 
Portland, OR 97232-1274. Comments may also be sent via fax to 503-230-
5441 or by email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob Clapp, Portland, OR (ph.: 503-231-
2314), Fax: 503-230-5441, email: [email protected]). Permit 
application instructions are available from the address above, or 
online at https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Species Covered in This Notice

    The following listed species are covered in this notice:
    Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): Threatened Lower 
Columbia River (LCR); threatened Puget Sound (PS); threatened Snake 
River (SR) fall-run; threatened SR spring/summer-run (spr/sum); 
endangered Upper Columbia River (UCR) spring-run; threatened Upper 
Willamette River (UWR).
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened UCR; threatened SR; threatened 
middle Columbia River (MCR); threatened LCR; threatened PS; threatened 
UWR.
    Sockeye salmon (O. nerka): Endangered SR.
    Chum salmon (O. keta): Threatened Columbia River (CR); threatened 
Hood Canal summer (HCS).
    Coho salmon (O. kisutch): Threatened LCR; threatened Oregon Coast 
(OC).
    Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus): Threatened southern distinct 
population segment (DPS) (S. eulachon).
    Green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris): Threatened southern DPS.
    Rockfish (Sebastes spp.): Endangered Puget Sound/Georgia Basin (PS/
GB) bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis); threatened PS/GB canary rockfish 
(S. pinniger); threatened PS/GB yelloweye rockfish (S. ruberrimus).

Authority

    Scientific research permits are issued in accordance with section 
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et. seq) and regulations 
governing listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 222-226). NMFS 
issues permits based on findings that such permits: (1) Are applied for 
in good faith; (2) if granted and exercised, would not operate to the 
disadvantage of the listed species that are the subject of the permit; 
and (3) are consistent with the purposes and policy of section 2 of the 
ESA. The authority to take listed species is subject to conditions set 
forth in the permits.
    Anyone requesting a hearing on an application listed in this notice 
should set out the specific reasons why a hearing on that application 
would be appropriate (see ADDRESSES). Such hearings are held at the 
discretion of the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NMFS.

Applications Received

Permit 1523-3R

    The National Council of Air and Stream Improvements (NCASI) is 
seeking to renew its permit to annually take listed salmon while 
conducting research in the McKenzie and Willamette rivers in Oregon. 
The researchers are requesting another five-year permit to take 
juvenile UWR Chinook salmon while studying water quality and biological 
conditions in rivers receiving paper and pulp mill discharges. The 
research would provide information on existing conditions in the 
watersheds and on changes in those conditions over time. Ultimately, 
the research would produce data regarding the aquatic communities' 
responses to environmental stressors. The information would be used in 
a larger effort to monitor watershed health, water quality, and salmon 
recovery in the upper Willamette River subbasin. The NCASI researchers 
propose to capture (using boat electrofishers), handle, and release 
listed salmon. They do not intend to capture adult fish but some may be 
in the area being fished and would be avoided as much as possible. 
While most of the fish would be unharmed, some juveniles may 
unintentionally be killed during the course of the research.

Permit 1525-6R

    The Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) is seeking to renew 
its permit to annually take listed salmonids while studying habitat 
occurrence, diet, contaminant concentrations, and health indicators in 
juvenile salmonids from the Lower Willamette and Columbia Rivers. The 
NWFSC is requesting another five-year permit to take SR spring/summer 
Chinook salmon, SR fall Chinook salmon, SR sockeye, SR steelhead, UCR 
Chinook salmon, UCR steelhead, MCR steelhead, LCR Chinook salmon, LCR 
coho salmon, LCR steelhead, UWR Chinook salmon, UWR steelhead, CR chum 
salmon, Southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) green sturgeon, and 
Southern DPS eulachon. The purposes of the study are to (1) determine 
contaminant concentrations in fish, (2) understand bioaccumulation in 
juvenile salmon and determine site specific factors, (3) analyze for 
the presence of physiological biomarkers, and (4) investigate the 
presence of indicators of exposure to environmental estrogens. The 
research would benefit the fish by providing resource managers with 
information on contaminant presence and concentration for a variety of 
contaminants and in a wide array of species. That data, in turn, would 
be used to inform numerous processes and documents from fishing 
regulations to recovery plans. The NWFSC would collect samples with 
seines or high speed rope trawls in the lower Willamette River, Oregon, 
and in the Columbia River from Bonneville Dam to the mouth. Researchers 
would handle juvenile fish and intentionally kill some of them to assay 
pathogen prevalence and intensity, biochemical composition, 
histopathological attributes, and stomach content analyses.

Permit 10020-4M

    The City of Bellingham (COB) is seeking to modify a five-year 
research permit that currently allows them to take juvenile PS Chinook 
salmon and juvenile and adult PS steelhead. The sampling would take 
place in Cemetery and Squalicum creeks near Bellingham, WA. The purpose 
of the study is to assess the effectiveness of habitat restoration 
measures implemented as part of the Whatcom Creek Long-term Restoration 
Plan by documenting fish population trends. This research would benefit 
the affected species by informing future restoration designs as well as 
providing data to support future enhancement projects. The COB proposes 
to capture fish using smolt traps placed in Cemetery and Squalicum 
creeks. Fish would be captured, anesthetized, identified by species, 
measured, have a tissue sample taken (to determine their origin), and 
allowed to recover in cool, aerated water before being released back to 
the stream. The researchers do not propose to kill any of the listed 
salmonids being captured, but a small number may die as an unintended 
result of the activities.

Permit 14668-2R

    The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is seeking to 
renew its permit to take listed salmonids while conducting the National 
Wild Fish Health Survey. The FWS is requesting another five-year permit 
to take listed salmon and steelhead while conducting

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research on the distribution of the Spring Viremia virus in wild carp. 
The FWS would capture, handle, and release listed juvenile salmonids 
(UCR Chinook, UCR steelhead, SR spring/summer Chinook, SR fall Chinook, 
SR steelhead, SR sockeye, MCR steelhead, LCR Chinook, LCR coho, LCR 
steelhead, CR chum, UWR Chinook, UWR steelhead, and OC coho) while 
conducting the research on carp. The FWS researchers would use beach 
seines and boat- and backpack electrofishing equipment to capture 
juvenile fish. The researchers would avoid contact with adult 
salmonids. If listed fish are captured during the research, they would 
be released immediately. The researchers do not expect to kill any 
listed fish but a small number may die as an unintended result of the 
research activities.

Permit 15205-3R

    The KWIAHT Center for the Historical Ecology of the Salish Sea is 
seeking to renew for five years a research permit that currently allows 
them to take juvenile PS Chinook salmon. Sampling sites would occur 
offshore of Blakely, Decatur, Lopez, and Waldron islands in the San 
Juan Island archipelago in Washington's Puget Sound. The purpose of 
this research is to measure prey opportunities (quantity and quality) 
for juvenile Chinook and other salmonids when they congregate annually 
in the San Juan Islands basin. This research would benefit PS Chinook 
salmon by analyzing the importance of terrestrial prey to juvenile wild 
Chinook during their neritic life history stage. The researchers 
propose using a beach seine to capture the fish. Fish would be 
captured, anesthetized, measured, have a tissue sample taken (sample 
scale and fin clip), gastric lavaged, and be allowed to recover in 
cool, aerated water until they are ready for release. The researchers 
do not propose to kill any of the listed salmonids being captured, but 
a small number may die as an unintended result of the activities.

Permit 15230-2R

    West Fork Environmental, Inc. (WFE) is seeking to renew for five 
years a research permit that currently allows them to take juvenile PS 
Chinook salmon and PS steelhead. The work would be conducted at 
sampling sites on the Tolt River (Snoqualmie River sub-basin). The 
purpose of the study is to better understand the seasonal use of the 
Tolt River and its tributaries by juvenile summer PS steelhead prior to 
their outmigration. This research would benefit PS steelhead by 
providing a better understanding of population-specific age structure, 
genetic structure, and movement patterns. The WFE researchers propose 
to capturing fish using beach seines, backpack electrofishing, and boat 
electrofishing. Steelhead would be captured, anesthetized, measured, 
weighed, have a tissue sample taken (sample scale and fin clip), PIT 
tagged, and allowed to recover in cool, aerated water until they are 
ready for release. All captured PS Chinook would be anesthetized, held 
until they recover, and released. The researchers do not propose to 
kill any of the listed salmonids being captured, but a small number may 
die as an unintended result of the activities.

Permit 17062-4R

    The NWFSC is seeking to renew for five years a research permit that 
currently allows them to take juvenile and adult HCS chum, PS Chinook 
salmon, PS steelhead, and PS/GB bocaccio. The researchers may also take 
juvenile and adult PS/GB canary rockfish and PS/GB yelloweye rockfish, 
for which there are currently no ESA take prohibitions. Sampling would 
take place throughout the Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and 
Hood Canal, Washington. The purpose of the study is to determine how 
much genetic variation exists between coastal and PS/GB DPS populations 
of bocaccio, canary rockfish, and yelloweye rockfish. The research 
would benefit rockfish by increasing the understanding of the 
connectivity (or lack thereof) between rockfish populations in the 
Puget Sound and populations on the outer coast. The NWFSC proposes to 
capture fish by (1) using hook and line equipment at depths of 50-100 
meters and (2) using a hand net while SCUBA diving at depths up to 40 
meters. For the hook and line fishing, captured rockfish would be 
slowly reeled to the surface and returned to the water via rapid 
submersion techniques to reduce barotrauma. For the hand netting, 
juvenile rockfish would be processed either at the capture site or 
brought to the surface before being released. All captured ESA-listed 
rockfish would be measured, sexed, have a tissue sample taken, floy 
tagged, and released. If an individual of these species is captured 
dead or deemed nonviable, it would be retained for genetic analysis. 
All other fish would be immediately released at the capture site. The 
researchers do not propose to kill any of the listed fish being 
captured, but a small number may die as an unintended result of the 
activities.

Permit 14772-2R

    The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is seeking to 
renew its permit to take juvenile and adult OC coho salmon. They are 
requesting another five-year permit to take OC coho while studying fish 
abundance and distribution and habitat preference in the Umpqua River. 
The researchers would also study the distribution of non-native 
invasive species, interspecific competition, and predator-prey 
interactions. The information would benefit OC coho by helping to 
improve management plans. The fish would be captured using backpack and 
boat electrofishing equipment; they would then be handled and released 
unharmed. The ODFW researchers would avoid adult coho, but a few may be 
shocked. In the event that an adult coho is encountered, the research 
crew would shut off the electrical current and allow the fish to swim 
away and no more electrofishing would occur in that location. The ODFW 
researchers do not intend to kill any of the fish being captured but a 
small number of juvenile coho may die as an unintended result of the 
activities.

Permit 18852

    The FWS is seeking a five-year permit to take UCR Chinook and 
steelhead and MCR steelhead while conducting three studies in the mid- 
and upper Columbia River in Washington State. The studies are (1) The 
Yakima Habitat Restoration Project Assessment (in which the 
effectiveness of habitat restoration projects would be measured); (2) 
The Toppenish Refuge Steelhead Use Assessment (in which steelhead 
habitat use on the Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge would be 
examined); and (3) Fish Population and Distribution Assessments (in 
which the FWS would study bull trout and Pacific lamprey distribution 
and abundance and possibly encounter listed salmonids). Under Study 1, 
the researchers would use backpack electrofishers to capture MCR 
steelhead. The captured fish would be identified by species, 
anesthetized, measured, and released. Under Study 2, the researchers 
would use a screw trap to capture juvenile MCR steelhead. The captured 
fish would be anesthetized, tagged and tissue sampled, measured, 
allowed to recover, and released. Under Study 3, the primary collection 
method would be netting while snorkeling, but in some areas backpack 
electrofishing equipment (including lamprey electrofishers) would be 
used. Non-target species, including UCR steelhead and Chinook salmon, 
would be not be netted if they

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can be identified. The captured steelhead and Chinook would be released 
with minimal handling, but some may be anesthetized, identified by 
species, and scanned for PIT tags. These fish will be held and allowed 
to recover in cool, aerated water and released at or near the site of 
capture.
    The studies would benefit the fish by helping guide habitat 
restoration efforts and refuge planning and adding information on fish 
presence and interactions in areas where they are currently poorly 
understood. The researchers do not intend to kill any of the fish being 
captured but a small number may die as an inadvertent result of the 
activities.

Permit 18883

    The City of Portland has requested a one-year permit to take listed 
salmon and steelhead while conducting fish tissue sampling in the 
Columbia River slough. The City performs fish tissue sampling every 10 
years to assess whether upland source control actions have reduced the 
level of toxins in fish tissue and to evaluate exposure levels for 
people who consume fish. Due to their high lipid content and feeding 
habits, carp are the target fish species used to evaluate exposure 
levels. The City would collect adult carp, using boat electrofishing 
equipment, from locations throughout the Slough. Although salmon and 
steelhead are not the target of the study, the City may inadvertently 
take juvenile and adult LCR Chinook salmon, LCR coho salmon, LCR 
steelhead, UWR Chinook salmon, and UWR steelhead. These fish would 
benefit from the information to be gained because that information 
would be used to reduce contaminant loads in all fish using the slough. 
The City does not intend to kill any of the salmonids being captured 
but a small number of juvenile fish may die as an unintended result of 
the activities.

Permit 18906

    The Northwest Straits Foundation (NSF) is seeking a five-year 
research permit to annually take juvenile HCS chum salmon, PS Chinook 
salmon, and PS steelhead. The researchers may also take adult S 
eulachon, for which there are currently no ESA take prohibitions. 
Sampling would take place at 20 to 30 sites in Puget Sound at the 
following locations: Fidalgo Bay, Bowman Bay, Shannon Point, Fort 
Townsend, Oak Bay, and Smugglers Cove. The purpose of the study is to 
monitor ecosystem response to restoration efforts and determine the 
restoration activities' effectiveness at reestablishing habitat as a 
natural functioning ecosystem. The research would benefit the listed 
species by determining the effectiveness of these restoration efforts 
and helping guide future efforts. The NSF proposes to use beach seines 
to capture the fish; they would then be identified by species, 
measured, and released. The researchers do not propose to kill any of 
the listed fish being captured, but a small number may die as an 
unintended result of the activities.

Permit 19013

    Long Live the Kings (LLTK) is seeking a five-year research permit 
to annually take juvenile HCS chum salmon, PS Chinook salmon, and PS 
steelhead from the Hamma Hamma River, Washington, while assessing 
effects and effectiveness of PS steelhead supplementation in that area. 
The research would benefit the listed species by determining what 
legacy effects the PS steelhead hatchery program has had on natural 
steelhead populations (abundance, genetic diversity, and life history 
diversity). The LLTK researchers propose to use a rotary screw trap to 
capture the fish which would then be anesthetized, weighed, measured, 
have a tissue sample taken (sample scale and fin clip), and allowed to 
recover in cool, aerated water until they are ready for release. The 
researchers do not propose to kill any of the listed salmonids being 
captured, but a small number may die as an unintended result of the 
activities.
    This notice is provided pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA. NMFS 
will evaluate the applications, associated documents, and comments 
submitted to determine whether the applications meet the requirements 
of section 10(a) of the ESA and Federal regulations. The final permit 
decisions will not be made until after the end of the 30-day comment 
period. NMFS will publish notice of its final action in the Federal 
Register.

    Dated: October 29, 2014.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-26243 Filed 11-4-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P