2013-08870. Endangered Species; File No. 16549

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Issuance of permit.

SUMMARY:

Notice is hereby given that the S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey; Box 796, 1 Migratory Way, Turners Falls, MA 01376 [Barnaby Watten: Responsible Party], has been issued a permit [File No. 16549] to take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for purposes of scientific research.

ADDRESSES:

The permit and related documents are available for review upon written request or by appointment in the following offices:

• 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, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930; phone [phone]; fax [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Malcolm Mohead or Colette Cairns, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On April 11, 2012, notice was published in the Federal Register (77 FR 21750) that a request for a scientific research permit to take shortnose sturgeon had been submitted by the above-named applicant. 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).

The Permit Holder is issued a five-year permit to study shortnose sturgeon in the wild and in captivity, determining up and downstream migrations, habitat use, spawning periodicity, seasonal movements of shortnose sturgeon in the Connecticut River from Agawam, MA to Montague, MA. He will also perform captive animal research in laboratory tests of up- and downstream fish passage studies, swimming performance tests, tagging studies, anesthesiology, behavior, physiology and contaminant studies, as well as producing progeny for further research. Additionally, the Permit Holder will collect fertilized embryo from each of the following rivers: Merrimack River (MA), and the Kennebec and Androscoggin Rivers (ME).

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 such endangered or threatened species, and (3) is consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in section 2 of the ESA.

Dated: April 11, 2013.

P. Michael Payne,

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