[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 230 (Thursday, November 29, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61375-61376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25955]



[[Page 61375]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG517


Endangered Species; File Nos. 19641-01, 20340-05, 20347-03, 
20528-02, and 22671

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

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

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that five applicants have applied in 
due form for a permit or permit modification to take shortnose 
(Acipenser brevirostrum) and Atlantic (Acipenser oxyrinchus) sturgeon 
for purposes of scientific research and enhancement.

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before December 31, 2018.

ADDRESSES: The permit and permit modification requests 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 pertinent 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 the application would be appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Malcolm Mohead (for File Nos. 19641-
01, 20347-03, and 22671) or Erin Markin (for File Nos. 20340-05 and 
20528-02), (301) 427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject new permit and permit 
modifications 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. 19641-01: Permit No. 19641 was issued on March 29, 2017 
(82 FR 16996) to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental 
Protection, Marine Fisheries, P.O. Box 719, Old Lyme, Connecticut 06371 
(Responsible Party: Tom Savoy), authorizing collecting, tagging and, 
monitoring the presence, abundance, diet, age and sex composition of 
shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon in Connecticut waters. Atlantic and 
shortnose sturgeon are currently authorized to be captured (using gill 
nets and trawls) measured, tissue sampled, gastric lavaged, passive 
integrated transponder (PIT) tagged, anesthetized, internally tagged, 
age sampled, photographed, and weighed prior to release. The permit 
holder now requests authorization to: (1) Increase the numbers of 
Atlantic sturgeon juvenile life stages that may be taken from 50 to 250 
annually, (2) increase numbers of shortnose sturgeon adult and sub-
adult life stages that may be taken from 130 to 250 annually, and (3) 
include new take for lethally collecting up to 250 early life stages of 
shortnose sturgeon using egg mats or D-nets. The additional numbers of 
captured fish would be measured, weighed, PIT tagged, genetically 
sampled, and photographed prior to release. The increases are requested 
to accommodate improvements in population abundance estimates for the 
respective species. The permit expires March 31, 2027.
    File No. 20437-03: Permit No. 20437 was issued March 29, 2017 (82 
FR 16996) to the University of Maine, School Of Marine Sciences, 5741 
Libby Hall, Room 202A, Orono, ME 04469-5741 (Responsible Party: Gayle 
Zydlewski, Ph.D.), authorizing research on Atlantic and shortnose 
sturgeon, collecting all life stages (using trawls, gill nets, trot 
lines, and beach seines, egg matts and D-nets), internal and external 
tagging, anesthetizing, borescoping, PIT tagging, Floy tagging, 
weighing, measuring, tissue sampling, age sampling, and monitoring the 
presence, abundance, diet, sex composition, and large scale movements 
of each species in Gulf of Maine (GOM) waters. The permit holder 
requests authorization to increase the numbers of Atlantic and 
shortnose sturgeon collected from the Merrimack, Penobscot Rivers, and 
in other areas of the GOM. In the Merrimack River (MA), the permit 
holder requests to capture and acoustically tag increased numbers of 
juvenile Atlantic (from 10 to 15) and shortnose sturgeon (from 15 to 
25) to better refine the movements of each species. In other selected 
GOM rivers, the permit holder also requests 15 additional Atlantic 
sturgeon juveniles to be taken and acoustically tagged in order to 
further refine coastal movements. In the Penobscot River (ME), the 
permit holder requests the numbers of shortnose sturgeon adults and 
sub-adults taken be increased from 200 to 300 in order to accommodate 
more precise population abundance estimates for the species. The permit 
expires March 31, 2027.
    File No. 20340-05: Permit No. 20340 was issued March 29, 2017 (82 
FR 16996) to the New York State Department of Environmental 
Conservation, 205 Belle Mead Road, East Setuaket, NY 11733 (Responsible 
Party: Kim McKown), authorizing research on Atlantic and shortnose 
sturgeon to determine movement of adult sturgeon in the Hyde Park area 
of the Hudson River, movement of age-1 sturgeon Hudson River-wide, 
respective species population estimates, and habitat utilization. Fish 
may be collected by gill nets or trawls year-round during ice-free 
periods. Upon capture, fish may be measured, weighed, PIT tagged, 
tissue sampled, and photographed. A subset of fish may be externally 
and/or internally tagged, fin ray sampled for ageing, gastric lavaged, 
gonadal biopsied, and blood sampled. Samples Atlantic sturgeon ELS may 
also lethally collected to document spawning in systems. Up to four 
Atlantic sturgeon and three shortnose sturgeon may unintentionally die 
annually during research. The permit holder requests authorization to: 
(1) Mark Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon using oxytetracycline for 
ageing studies, (2) lethally collect shortnose sturgeon ELS, and (3) 
sample leading fin rays to validate age assignments. The permit expires 
March 31, 2027.
    File No. 20528-02: Permit No. 20528 was issued March 29, 2017 (82 
FR 16996) to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, 217 
Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412 (Responsible Party: Bill Post), 
authorizing a permit to conduct research on Atlantic and shortnose 
sturgeon to determine their presence, status, health, habitat use, and 
movements in South Carolina waters. Researchers may use gill nets to 
capture Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon to measure, weigh, PIT tag, 
tissue sample, and photograph prior to release. A subset of individuals 
may be acoustically tagged, fin ray sampled, and gonadal biopsied. 
Early life stages of each species may be

[[Page 61376]]

lethally sampled to document occurrence of spawning in systems. Up to 
two sturgeon of each species may unintentionally die annually during 
sampling activities. The permit holder is requesting authorization to: 
(1) Increase the number of juvenile and sub-adult/adult shortnose 
sturgeon captures in the Edisto River from 5 to 10, respectively, (2) 
collect blood samples from sub-adult/adult sturgeon for sex 
determination in the Cooper River, and (3) expand research to the 
Waccamaw River and Lakes Moultrie and Marion in South Carolina. Up to 
150 juvenile Atlantic sturgeon and 50 juvenile shortnose sturgeon may 
be captured using gill nets in the Waccamaw River and PIT tagged, 
biologically sampled (fin clip, fin ray clip), weighed, measured, and 
photographed/videoed prior to release. Up to 10 juvenile and 95 sub-
adult/adult shortnose sturgeon may be captured using gill nets in Lakes 
Moultrie and Marion and PIT tagged, biologically sampled (fin clip, fin 
ray clip), weighed, measured, and photographed/videoed prior to 
release. A subset of captured fish may be internally tagged. The permit 
expires March 31, 2027.
    File No. 22671: The Conte Anadromous Fish Research Laboratory, U.S. 
Geological Survey (USGS), Biological Resources Discipline (BRD), 1 
Migratory Way, Turners Falls, MA 01376 (Responsible Party: Adria 
Elskus, Ph.D.), requests a 10-year permit studying the life history, 
population size, migration, physiology, and passage of shortnose 
sturgeon in the Connecticut River. The action area includes three 
segments: Bellows Falls Dam (Bellows Falls, VT) to the Turner Falls Dam 
(Montague, MA), Turner Falls Dam to the Holyoke Dam (Holyoke, MA), and 
Holyoke Dam to the Massachusetts-Connecticut border (Agawam, MA). 
Additional tracking of telemetered fish would take place to the mouth 
of the Connecticut River. To conduct studies, the applicant requests 
capturing up to 195 adult/sub-adult and 185 juvenile shortnose sturgeon 
annually using gill nets or trawls and 200 early life stages (ELS) 
would be lethally sampled using egg matts or D-nets to determine the 
incidence of spawning in the river. The older life stages would be 
measured, weighed, passive integrated transponder (PIT) tagged, tissue 
sampled (i.e., genetic and blood), sexed (i.e., using a borescope), 
photographed, and prophylactically treated prior to release. A subset 
of the adult, sub-adult and juvenile animals would also be anesthetized 
and be either internally or externally tagged prior to release. Up to 
two juvenile and one adult/sub-adult shortnose sturgeon may be 
incidentally killed caused by capture and sampling activities.
    The applicant also proposes using captive (non-releasable) adult, 
sub-adult, juvenile, and ELS shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon for 
objectives related to: Pathology, propagation techniques, 
anesthesiology, neurology, fish passage, fish behavior, technology 
(e.g., tagging); toxicology, genetics, contaminants, immunology, 
euthanasia, life history, water quality, nutrition, endocrinology, and 
captive educational display (i.e., enhancement activities). Additional 
specimens required would either be propagated or cultured at the 
facility or acquired elsewhere by import or receipt. Excess numbers of 
individual sturgeon would be used as a source-supply for co-
investigators working collaboratively on the permit while conducting 
similar research or enhancement activities.

    Dated: November 26, 2018.
Julia Marie Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-25955 Filed 11-28-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P