[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 17, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33209-33210]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15196]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG302


Endangered Species; File Nos. 18238, 21327 and 22123

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of applications for permits and a permit 
modification.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that three applicants have applied in 
due form for a permit or permit modification to take green (Chelonia 
mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys 
kempii), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and olive ridley (L. olivacea) 
sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before August 16, 2018.

ADDRESSES: The application 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 the 
applicable File No. 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 the applications 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 the application would be appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Hapeman (for File No. 18238-01) or 
Erin Markin (for File Nos. 21327 and 22123), (301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permits and permit modification 
are requested 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).
    File No. 18238-01: Permit No. 18238 issued on April 21, 2016 (81 FR 
43589) authorizes the NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 8901 La 
Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, (Responsible Party: Lisa 
Ballance, Ph.D.,) to take green, loggerhead, and olive ridley sea 
turtles for research in southern California waters. Researchers may 
conduct vessel surveys for sea turtle counts, captures, examination, 
observation, marking, biological sampling, tagging, and morphometrics. 
The permit holder requests authorization to: (1) Increase the number of 
green sea turtles that may be taken from 60 to 100 turtles annually to 
accommodate an increase in survey effort needed to improve population 
abundance estimates, and (2) extend the duration of the permit until 
September 30, 2025.
    File No. 21327: Raymond Carthy, Florida Cooperative Fish and 
Wildlife Research Unit, USGS-BRD, P.O. Box 110485, Gainesville, FL 
23611, proposes to continue research to determine (1) distribution and 
abundance, (2) use of benthic habitats, (3) demographics and movement 
patterns, and (4) human impacts for sea turtles in the Florida 
Panhandle and Big Bend region of Florida. Up to 1720 green, 160 
hawksbill, 285 Kemp's ridley, and 180 loggerhead sea turtles, annually, 
may be harassed, but not captured, during

[[Page 33210]]

vessel surveys and when using a remotely operated vehicle to study 
brumating behavior. Up to 540 green, 40 hawksbill, 210 Kemp's ridley, 
and 130 loggerhead sea turtles would be captured, annually, by hand, or 
dip, tangle, or strike net, marked, biologically sampled (blood, 
tissue, scute), tagged (flipper and passive integrated transponder 
[PIT]), measured, weighed, and photographed prior to release. A subset 
of captured sea turtles would receive a satellite tag or a combination 
of an acoustic and archival tag and a subset of green sea turtles would 
be lavaged prior to release. The permit would be valid for 10 years 
from the date of issuance.
    File No. 22123: Jeffrey Schmid, Ph.D., Conservancy of Southwest 
Florida, 1495 Smith Preserve Way, Naples, FL 34102, proposes to 
continue long-term in-water studies of sea turtles inhabiting the 
Charlotte Harbor and Ten Thousand Islands estuarine complexes on the 
southwest coast of Florida to determine species composition, abundance, 
size-class distribution, migration patterns, growth, habitat 
preference, and site fidelity. Up to 60 Kemp's ridley and 30 loggerhead 
sea turtles, annually, would be captured by strike net, biologically 
sampled (blood, scute, tissue), tagged (PIT, flipper), transported to 
and temporarily held in a facility for opportunistic fecal collection, 
photographed, measured, and weighed prior to release. A subset of 
captured Kemp's ridley and loggerhead sea turtles also would receive a 
satellite tag or radio and sonic tags prior to release. Up to 20 green 
sea turtles, annually, would be captured by strike net, biologically 
sampled (blood, scute, tissue), tagged (PIT, flipper), photographed, 
measured, weighed, and receive a satellite tag or radio and sonic tags 
prior to release. Up to five hawksbill sea turtles, annually, would be 
captured by strike net, biologically sampled (blood, scute, tissue), 
tagged (PIT, flipper), photographed, measured, and weighed prior to 
release. The permit would be valid for 10 years from the date of 
issuance.

    Dated: July 12, 2018.
Julia Marie Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-15196 Filed 7-16-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P