05-15143. Endangered Species; File No. 1526

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice; issuance of permit.

SUMMARY:

Notice is hereby given that Andre Landry, Sea Turtle and Fisheries Ecology Research Lab, Texas A&M University at Galveston, 5007 Avenue U, Galveston, TX 77553 has been issued a permit to take Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

ADDRESSES:

The permit and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment in the following office(s):

Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone [phone]; fax [phone]; and

Southeast Region, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701; phone [phone]; fax [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patrick Opay or Ruth Johnson, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On April 25, 2005, notice was published in the Federal Register (70 FR 21178) that a request for a scientific research permit to take loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, hawksbill, and green sea turtles had been submitted by the above-named individual. The requested permit has been issued 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).

Permit No. 1526 authorizes Dr. Landry to study Kemp's ridley, loggerhead, green, and hawksbill sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico to identify their relative abundance over time; detect changes in sea turtle size composition; document movement and migration patterns; and determine the role of nearshore habitats in sea turtle survival.

Issuance of this permit, as required by the ESA, was based on a finding that such permit (1) was applied for in good faith, (2) will not operate to the disadvantage of any endangered or threatened species, and (3) is consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the ESA.

Dated: July 26, 2005.

Stephen L. Leathery,

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