[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 123 (Friday, June 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 36769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15749]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD505


Endangered Species; File No. 18688

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

ACTION: Issuance of permit.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS Pacific Islands Regional 
Office (PIRO), 1601 Kapiolani Boulevard, Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814 
[Responsible Party: Michael Tosatto], has been issued a permit to take 
hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), olive ridley (Lepidochelys 
olivacea), leatherback (Dermochelys imbricata), loggerhead (Caretta 
caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles for purposes of 
scientific research.

ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available for review 
upon written request or by appointment in the 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Hapeman or Courtney Smith; phone: 
(301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 22, 2014, notice was published 
in the Federal Register (79 FR 56573) that a request for a scientific 
research permit to take hawksbill, olive ridley, leatherback, 
loggerhead and green sea turtles had been submitted by the above-named 
organization. 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).
    NMFS PIRO has been issued a five-year research permit to conduct 
research on sea turtles bycaught in three longline fisheries in the 
Pacific Ocean around Hawaii and American Samoa to assess sea turtle 
post-hooking survival, movements, and ecology in pelagic habitats. The 
permit authorizes examination, morphometrics, biological sampling, and 
tagging of live sea turtles and the collection of carcasses, tissues 
and parts from dead sea turtles. Authorized take numbers for these 
activities are consistent with the number of turtle captures analyzed 
in the incidental take statement of the biological opinion prepared for 
each 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: June 23, 2015.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-15749 Filed 6-25-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P