[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 198 (Wednesday, October 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61794-61795]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-25985]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE235


Endangered Species; Take of Abalone

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

ACTION: Notice of receipt for request for one scientific research 
permit and one scientific research and enhancement permit.

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

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 November 13, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the applications should be submitted to 
the Protected Resources Division, NMFS, 777 Sonoma Avenue, Room 325, 
Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Comments may also be submitted via fax to 707-
578-3435 or by email to [email protected] (include the permit 
number in the subject line of the fax or email).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Abrams, Santa Rosa, CA (ph.: 707-
575-6080), Fax: 707-578-3435, 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:
    Endangered black abalone (Haliotis cracherodii).

Authority

    Scientific research and enhancement 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 222-227). 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 18761

    Dr. Peter Raimondi, professor and chair of the University of 
California, Santa Cruz, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 
has requested a five year research permit to monitor and research the 
status and trends of endangered black abalone at sites throughout 
California for a period of five years. Monitoring would consist 
primarily of non-lethal, non-capture take to measure, mark, and count 
abalone. At a few experimental sites, habitat restoration efforts would 
be completed to restore crevice communities to their pre-abalone 
decline state, and recruitment modules would be used to better estimate 
recruitment levels. Comparisons would be made between abalone counts in 
``restored'' crevices versus control crevices with and without 
recruitment modules to assess whether habitat restoration and 
recruitment module presence enhance recovery efforts. Some juvenile 
black abalone would be transported in recruitment modules from 
locations that are relatively free of withering syndrome in the north 
(Monterey County), to a withering syndrome-impacted mainland site 
further south (Santa Barbara County). Because the field biologists in 
this project would be likely to encounter dead or moribund black 
abalone, researchers would be permitted to collect dead or obviously 
dying individuals to be used for pathology and histology samples. These 
samples would be important in early identification of disease or toxin 
outbreaks. The information resulting from the research outlined above 
would be used to follow recovery in wild abalone, track disease spread 
and population decline, and better understand habitat preferences that 
may aid in facilitating recovery.

Permit 19571

    The NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), La Jolla, 
California has requested a five year research and enhancement permit 
for the captive maintenance, breeding, lab experiments, epipodial 
tissue sampling, observation, and transport of endangered black 
abalone. The main purpose of this research would be to develop 
successful techniques for consistent production of high quality 
juvenile black abalone to support future outplanting efforts. Research 
would examine: 1) Spawning conditioning related to various diet and 
temperature regimes, 2) cues for spawning including thermal shock and 
hydrogen peroxide treatments, 3) veliger settlement, 4) and growth and 
survival. Eight of the black abalone proposed to be used for this 
research were previously transferred from the Space and Naval Warfare 
Systems Center Pacific Abalone Farm to the SWFSC Aquarium Culture 
Facility in La Jolla, California. These pre-listed abalone have been in 
captivity since before black abalone were listed as

[[Page 61795]]

Endangered under the ESA. Additional pre-listed black abalone for this 
research may be transferred from the University of California, Santa 
Barbara, or other facilities that currently maintain pre-listed black 
abalone. In addition, wild origin black abalone may be obtained for 
this research through confiscations due to law enforcement cases, or 
from projects covered under ESA Section 7 consultations.
    The research proposed would support the development of management 
strategies necessary for the successful recovery of this species and 
possibly assist natural resource managers in the future selection of 
the location and size of marine protected areas designed to protect 
black abalone. Prior efforts to spawn and produce black abalone spat 
have been unsuccessful, so this proposed work would seek to better 
condition black abalone for successful spawning and to improve 
fertilization success, settlement, and recruitment.
    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 7, 2015.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-25985 Filed 10-13-15; 8:45 am]
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