E9-20491. Endangered Species; File No. 14396

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice; receipt of application.

SUMMARY:

Notice is hereby given that the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control-Division of Fish and Wildlife, Dover, Delaware, has applied in due form for a permit to take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for purposes of scientific research.

DATES:

Written, telefaxed, or e-mail comments must be received on or before September 24, 2009.

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/​index.cfm, and then selecting File No. 14396 from the list of available applications. These documents are also 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

Northeast Region, NMFS, Protected Resources Division, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930; phone [phone]; fax [phone].

Written comments or requests for a public hearing on this application should be mailed to the Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education Division, F/PR1, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Those individuals requesting a hearing should set forth the specific reasons why a hearing on this particular request would be appropriate.

Comments may also be submitted by facsimile at [phone], provided the facsimile is confirmed by hard copy submitted by mail and postmarked no later than the closing date of the comment period.

Comments may also be submitted by e-mail. The mailbox address for providing e-mail comments is NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa. gov. Include in the subject line of the e-mail comment the following document identifier: File No. 14396.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Malcolm Mohead or Kate Swails, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The subject permit is 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 222-226).

The applicant is seeking a five-year scientific research permit to conduct a study of shortnose sturgeon in the Delaware River. The primary study objective would be to locate and document nursery areas, individual movement patterns, seasonal movements, home ranges, and habitats of juvenile shortnose sturgeon through the use of telemetry. This focus would be in association with an ongoing Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrhinchus) study with similar objectives. Up to 200 shortnose sturgeon would be weighed, measured, examined for tags, marked with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags and Floy tags, and released. Up to 15 early stage juvenile shortnose sturgeon would also be anesthetized and implanted with acoustic transmitters if they are of suitable size. A total of one unintentional mortality is requested over the five year term of the project which is scheduled to take place from March 1 to December 15.

Dated: August 19, 2009.

P. Michael Payne,

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