02-1662. Endangered Species; Permits

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Receipt of an application for a research permit (1360).

SUMMARY:

Notice is hereby given of the following actions regarding permits for takes of endangered and threatened species for the purposes of scientific research and/or enhancement under the Endangered Species Act (ESA): NMFS has received an application for a scientific research permit from Dr. David Secor, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL).

DATES:

Comments or requests for a public hearing on any of the new applications or modification requests must be received at the appropriate address or fax number no later than 5 p.m. eastern standard time on February 22, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments on this request should be sent to the appropriate office as indicated below. Comments may also be sent via fax to the number indicated for the application. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the Internet. The application and related documents are available for review in the indicated office, by appointment:

Permits, Conservation and Education Division, F/PR1, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (phone: [phone], fax: [phone]).

Documents may also be reviewed by appointment in the Office of Protected Resources, F/PR1, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13730, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226 (phone:[phone]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lillian Becker, Silver Spring, MD (phone: [phone], fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail])

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority

Issuance of permits and permit modifications, as required by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1543) (ESA), is based on a finding that such permits/modifications: (1) are applied for in good faith; (2) would not operate to the disadvantage of the listed species which are the subject of the permits; and (3) are consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the ESA. Scientific research and/or enhancement permits are issued under section 10 (a)(1)(A) of the ESA. Authority to take listed species is subject to conditions set forth in the permits. Permits and modifications are issued in accordance with and are subject to the ESA and NMFS regulations governing listed fish and wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 222-226).

Those individuals 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). The holding of such hearing is at the discretion of the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA. All statements and opinions contained in the permit action summary are those of the applicant and do not necessarily reflect the views of NMFS.

Species Covered in This Notice

The following species are covered in this notice:

Fish

Endangered Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum)

Application 1360

The applicant hypothesizes that the recovery of shortnose sturgeon on the Hudson River occurred due to one or several strong year-classes following nursery system recovery to normoxia after 1977. The applicant proposes to test this hypothesis by determining the ages of shortnose sturgeon caught in the Hudson river by interpreting annulus of pectoral fin spines. The method will be tested on 10 captive shortnose sturgeon from seven age classes (70 total) from US Fish and Wildlife Service Warm Springs Fish Hatchery, Georgia. The applicant will clip a 1cm section from the primary spine of one pectoral fin near the point of articulation. After this has been tested in hatchery fish, the applicant proposes to capture shortnose sturgeon in the Hudson River with gillnets, handle, measure, check for tags, tag, passive integrated transponder tag, sex (by external or fiberoptic examination), and release. The applicant proposes to take 190 shortnose sturgeon in 2002 and 480 in 2003.

Dated: January 17, 2002.

Ann Terbush,

Chief, Permits, Conservation, and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.