[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 224 (Monday, November 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83203-83204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27975]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE204


Endangered Species; File No. 19621

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 Michael Arendt, South Carolina 
Department of Natural Resources, Marine Resources Division, 217 Fort 
Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, has requested a modification to 
scientific research Permit No. 19621.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before December 21, 2016.

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. 19621 from the list of available applications. These documents are 
also available 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.
    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: Amy Hapeman or Malcolm Mohead, (301) 
427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject modification to Permit No. 
19621, issued on June 16, 2016 (81 FR 43589) 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. 19621 authorizes the Dr. Arendt to study loggerhead 
(Caretta caretta), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), green (Chelonia 
mydas), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles in the 
waters of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Researchers may capture 
animals by trawl or tangle net and perform the following procedures 
before release: Morphometrics, tagging, photography, biological 
sampling, ultrasound, marking, laparoscopy and associated transport, 
transmitter attachment, and/or epibiota removal. A limited number of 
sea turtles may accidentally die due to capture over the life of the 
permit. The permit holder requests authorization to: (1) take olive 
ridley sea turtles (L. olivacea) during all research projects for rare 
captures that could occur; (2) expand Project 3's area to include 
coastal shoals adjacent to the Cape Canaveral channel; (3) extend 
Project 3's duration through October 2020; and (4) increase the annual 
take of green and loggerhead sea turtles by four and nine turtles, 
respectively, and authorize double tagging and tissue sampling of a 
small subset of these animals. Project 3 changes would allow for new 
collaborations and funding sources to meet the existing objectives to 
assess the distribution, relative

[[Page 83204]]

abundance, demographic structure, and health of foraging sea turtles in 
these waters. The permit expires on June 15, 2021.

    Dated: November 16, 2016.
Julia Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-27975 Filed 11-18-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P