[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2145-2147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00602]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF945


Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

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

ACTION: Notice; applications for one new scientific research permit and 
five scientific research permit renewals.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received six scientific 
research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon and 
steelhead. 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.

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 February 15, 
2018.

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] (include the permit number 
in the subject line of the fax or email).

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): Endangered upper 
Columbia River (UCR); threatened Snake River (SR) spring/summer (spr/
sum), threatened SR fall-run.
    Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened UCR; threatened SR; threatened 
middle Columbia River (MCR).
    Sockeye salmon (O. nerka): Endangered SR.

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 1124-6R

    The IDFG is seeking to renew for five years a permit under which 
they have been conducting six research projects in the Snake River 
basin for nearly 20 years. The permit would continue to cover the 
following actions: One general fish population inventory; one project 
designed to monitor fish health throughout the state; two projects 
looking at natural and hatchery Chinook salmon production (in which 
sockeye may rarely be captured); one project monitoring natural 
steelhead; and one project centering on monitoring sockeye salmon 
recovery in Idaho. Much of the work being conducted under these 
projects is covered by other ESA authorizations; the work contemplated 
here is only the work that portion of the research that may affect 
sockeye salmon. The purposes of the research are therefore to monitor 
listed salmonid health, help guide sockeye salmon recovery operations, 
and to rescue sockeye salmon in need imperiled by circumstances such as 
being trapped by low flows. The benefits to the salmon would come in 
the form of information to help guide resource managers in restoring 
the listed fish and, as stated, in directly rescuing them from peril. 
The fish would be captured by various methods--screw traps, 
electrofishing, hook-and-line-angling, mid-water trawl--and most 
captured fish would immediately be released. The researchers do not 
intend to kill any of the captured fish, but a few may die as an 
inadvertent result of the research.

Permit 1134-7R

    The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) is seeking 
to renew for five years a permit under which they have been conducting 
research for nearly 20 years. The permit would continue covering five 
study projects that, among them, would annually take adult and juvenile 
threatened SR spring/summer Chinook salmon and adult and juvenile 
threatened SR steelhead in the Snake River basin. There have been some 
changes in the research over the last ten years; nonetheless, the 
projects proposed are largely continuations of ongoing research. They 
are: Project 1--Adult Spring/summer and Fall Chinook Salmon and Summer 
Steelhead Ground and Aerial Spawning Ground Surveys; Project 2--
Cryopreservation of Spring/summer Chinook Salmon and Summer Steelhead 
Gametes; Project 3--Adult Chinook Salmon Abundance Monitoring Using 
Video Weirs, Acoustic Imaging, and passive integrated transponder (PIT) 
tag Detectors in the South Fork Salmon River; Project 4--Snorkel, 
Seine, fyke net, Minnow Trap, and Electrofishing Surveys and Collection 
of Juvenile Chinook Salmon and Steelhead; and Project 5--Juvenile 
Anadromous

[[Page 2146]]

Salmonid Emigration Studies Using Rotary Screw Traps. Under these 
tasks, listed adult and juvenile salmon would be variously (1) 
observed/harassed during fish population and production monitoring 
surveys; (2) captured (using seines, trawls, traps, hook-and-line 
angling equipment, and electrofishing equipment) and anesthetized; (3) 
sampled for biological information and tissue samples, (4) PIT-tagged 
or tagged with other identifiers, (5) and released.
    The research has many purposes and would benefit listed salmon and 
steelhead in different ways. However, in general, the studies are part 
of ongoing efforts to monitor the status of listed species in the Snake 
River basin and to use those data to inform decisions about land- and 
fisheries management actions and to help prioritize and plan recovery 
measures for the listed species. Under the proposal, the studies would 
continue to benefit listed species by generating population abundance 
estimates, allowing comparisons to be made between naturally 
reproducing populations and those being supplemented with hatchery 
fish, and helping preserve listed salmon and steelhead genetic 
diversity. The CRITFC researchers do not intend to kill any of the fish 
being captured, but a small percentage may die as a result of the 
research activities.

Permit 13380-3R

    The NWFSC is seeking to renew for five years a permit that 
currently allows them to annually take natural juvenile SR spring/
summer Chinook salmon and SR steelhead in the Salmon River subbasin in 
Idaho. This research has been in progress for over ten years and is 
designed to assess three alternative methods of nutrient enhancement 
(Salmon carcasses, carcass analogues, and nutrient pellets) on 
biological communities in Columbia River tributaries. In general, the 
purpose of the research is to learn how salmonids acquire nutrients 
from the carcasses of dead spawners and test three methods of using 
those nutrients to increase growth and survival among naturally 
produced salmonids. The research would benefit the fish by helping 
managers use nutrient enhancement techniques to recover listed salmonid 
populations. Moreover, managers would gain a broader understanding of 
the role marine-derived nutrients play in ecosystem health as a whole. 
This, in turn, would help inform management decisions and actions 
intended to help salmon recovery in the future.
    Under the proposed research, the fish would variously be (1) 
captured (using seines, nets, traps, and possibly, electrofishing 
equipment) and anesthetized; (2) measured, weighed and fin-clipped; (3) 
held for a time in enclosures in the stream from which they are 
captured; and (4) released. A number of the captured fish would also be 
intentionally killed so the researchers may conduct stable isotope, 
otolith, and diet analyses with the purpose of linking growth and 
survival to habitat conditions. It is also likely that a small 
percentage of the fish being captured would unintentionally be killed 
during the process; in such instances, any unintentional mortalities 
would be used in place of any fish that would otherwise be lethally 
taken. In addition, tissue samples would be taken from adult carcasses.

Permit 14283-3R

    Environmental Assessment Services (EAS) is seeking to renew for 
five years a permit that currently allows them to annually take listed 
fish in the mid- and upper Columbia River in support of the U.S. 
Department of Energy's Hanford Site Cleanup Mission and regulatory 
drivers under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 
and Liability Act (CERCLA). The research would take place in four areas 
the Columbia River waters extending from McNary Dam to a point upstream 
of Wanapum Dam. The researchers are targeting non-listed resident fish 
but may also capture UCR steelhead and Chinook, MCR steelhead, SR fall 
Chinook, SR spr/sum Chinook, and SR Steelhead. The research would 
benefit listed fish by helping monitor and reduce contamination from 
the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The researchers would capture the fish 
using electrofishing, hook and line, and long-line techniques. Any 
captured listed fish would immediately be released. The researchers do 
not propose to kill any listed fish but a small number may 
inadvertently be killed by the activities.

Permit 16979-2R

    The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking a 
five-year permit to collect data on UCR Chinook and steelhead 
abundance, status, distribution, diversity, species/ecological 
interactions, and behavior in the Columbia River from its confluence 
with the Yakima River upstream to Chief Joseph Dam. The research would 
benefit fish by helping managers (1) understand the distribution and 
proportion of hatchery and natural origin steelhead, and Chinook in UCR 
tributaries, (2) understand the influences of other biotic and abiotic 
factors with respect to recovering listed species, (3) understand the 
potential effects of proposed land use practices, (4) determine 
appropriate regulatory and habitat protection measures in the areas 
where land use actions are planned, (5) project the impacts of 
potential hydraulic projects, and (6) evaluate the effectiveness of 
local forest practices and instream habitat improvement projects in 
terms of their ability to protect and enhance listed salmonid 
populations.
    The researchers would capture fish via a wide variety of means 
(snorkeling, dip netting, seining, using electrofishing equipment, 
traps and weirs, and barbless hook-and-line sampling). The captured 
fish would be variously tissue sampled, measured, tagged, allowed to 
recover, and released. The researchers do not intend to kill any of the 
fish being captured, but a small percentage of them may inadvertently 
be killed as a result of the proposed activities.

Permit 21571

    The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is seeking a five-year 
permit to conduct research on migration survival among middle Columbia 
River steelhead in the Yakima River system in Washington State. The 
research would look at how well the listed fish are surviving passage 
through various reaches of the Yakima River. The research would benefit 
the listed fish by helping managers understand what survival risks the 
young salmonids face when migrating downriver in the Yakima system. The 
managers would then be able to use that information to take actions 
designed to increase fish survival. The USGS researchers would capture 
juvenile MCR steelhead and tag them with acoustic and PIT tags. They 
would then use PIT tag detectors and acoustic receivers to follow the 
fish as they move downstream. The researchers would also use boat 
electrofishing equipment to count predators in several reaches, but 
they would not use that equipment to capture any listed animals for 
handling an adult steelhead would be avoided in all cases. The 
researchers do not intend to kill any listed animals, but a small 
number may die as an inadvertent result of the planned 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.


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    Dated: January 10, 2018.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-00602 Filed 1-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P