[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 199 (Wednesday, October 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 65030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22615]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA558]


Endangered Species; File Nos. 24016 and 24020

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of applications for permits.

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

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email comments must be received on or 
before November 13, 2020.

ADDRESSES: The applications 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 
appropriate File Nos. 24016 or 24020 from the list of available 
applications. These documents are also available upon written request 
via email to [email protected].
    Written comments on this application should be submitted via email 
to [email protected]. Please include the appropriate File No. 
24016 or 24020 in the subject line of the email comment.
    Those individuals requesting a public hearing should submit a 
similar written request via email to [email protected]. The 
request should set forth the specific reasons why a hearing on the 
requested application would be appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Malcolm Mohead or Erin Markin, (301) 
427-8401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permits 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. 24016: Jason Kahn, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 
East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, requests a permit to 
conduct scientific research on Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon in 
freshwater and estuary areas of the Chesapeake Bay to assess adult 
sturgeon population and reproductive capacity as well as monitor 
spawning activity, movement, and habitat through telemetry. Juvenile, 
sub-adult and adult life stages of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon 
would be captured using gill or trammel nets, trawls, and trapping nets 
(e.g., fyke, or other trap nets), whereupon all animals would be marked 
with passive integrated transponder (PIT) and Floy tags, genetic tissue 
sampled, measured, weighed, photographed and released. Subsets of 
animals may also be anesthetized, internally or externally acoustically 
tagged, biologically sampled (i.e., fin ray, blood, gametes), 
endoscoped and ultrasounded. Larvae and eggs may also be collected with 
D-nets, trawls (i.e., epibenthic sleds), and egg mats. The applicant 
anticipates that up to one adult/sub-adult and one juvenile Atlantic 
sturgeon may be killed annually.
    In coastal areas within the Atlantic sturgeon's range, research 
will focus on opportunistic sampling and telemetry of adult, sub-adult 
and juvenile life stages captured incidentally under other ESA 
authority. All animals would be marked with PIT and Floy tags, genetic 
tissue sampled, measured, weighed, photographed, and released. Subsets 
of animals may also be anesthetized, internally or externally 
acoustically tagged, biologically sampled (e.g., fin ray, blood, 
gametes), and endoscoped. Survival and coastal movement of animals in a 
mixed marine stock would be documented through telemetry. The permit 
would be valid for up to 10 years from the date of issuance.
    File No. 24020: The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and 
Environmental Control, 3002 Bayside Drive, Dover, DE 19901 (Responsible 
Party: Michael Stangle), requests a permit to conduct scientific 
research on adult, sub-adult, and juvenile Atlantic and shortnose 
sturgeon in the Delaware River to document abundance, movement 
patterns, and habitat preference using telemetry. Annually, sturgeon 
would be captured with gillnets and trawls, where upon they would be 
weighed, measured, examined for tags, marked with PIT and Floy tags, 
genetically sampled, photographed and released. Subsets of animals 
would be anesthetized and implanted with acoustic transmitters, gastric 
lavaged, and fin-ray sampled, released, and traced by telemetry.
    The applicant anticipates that up to one adult/sub-adult and one 
juvenile Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon may be killed annually. The 
permit would be valid for up to 10 years from the date of issuance.

    Dated: October 7, 2020.
Julia Marie Harrison,
Chief, Permits and Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-22615 Filed 10-13-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P