Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish, 10102-10103 [2014-03806]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
10102
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 36 / Monday, February 24, 2014 / Notices
assist the Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries when making a determination
of whether an observer program is
‘‘qualified and authorized’’ for purposes
of the dolphin-safe labeling program
under the Dolphin Protection Consumer
Information Act.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before March 26, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be
sent by any of the following methods:
• Email to the following address:
nmfs.observer.criteria@noaa.gov.
• Mail or hand deliver to Bill
Jacobson, National Marine Fisheries
Service, 501 West Ocean Boulevard,
Suite 4200, Long Beach, California
90802. Mark the outside of the envelope
‘‘Public Comment on Observer Criteria.’’
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill
Jacobson by phone at (562) 980–4035.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 9,
2013, NMFS published a final rule
under the Dolphin Protection Consumer
Information Act titled ‘‘Enhanced
Document Requirements to Support Use
of the Dolphin Safe Label on Tuna
Products’’ (78 FR 40997) that amended
regulations at 50 CFR part 216, subpart
H. Sections 216.91(a)(2)(iii)(B) and
(a)(4)(ii) authorize the Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries to determine
if observers participating in observer
programs using any gear type in any
ocean are qualified and authorized to
certify that no dolphins were killed or
seriously injured in the sets or other
gear deployments in which the tuna
were caught and, if applicable, that no
purse seine net was intentionally
deployed on or used to encircle
dolphins during the fishing trip in
which the tuna were caught. That
determination triggers a requirement
that when an observer from the
qualified and authorized program is on
board a vessel that harvests tuna during
a fishing trip, such tuna would require
a certification executed by the observer
or by an authorized representative of the
nation participating in the observer
program in order to be used in tuna
products labeled ‘‘dolphin safe.’’ This
certification would be in addition to the
requirement that tuna used in tuna
products labeled ‘‘dolphin safe,’’ be
accompanied by a written statement
executed by the Captain of the
harvesting vessel (codified in
§ 216.91(a)(2)(ii), (a)(2)(iii)(A) and
(a)(4)(i)).
NMFS anticipates that qualified
observers will have undergone training
programs that include such topics as
recognizing an intentional set, dolphin
species identification, recognizing
dolphin mortality and how to collect the
information needed for determining a
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:16 Feb 21, 2014
Jkt 232001
serious injury. NMFS acknowledges that
these skills are complex. NMFS will
determine an observer program is
‘‘qualified and authorized’’ based on a
rigorous scrutiny of the observer
program’s training programs and a
finding that the observers or a
designated program representative is
capable of making the requisite
determinations.
Using the criteria, the Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries will
determine which observer programs are
qualified and authorized and will
announce such determinations in the
Federal Register and also on the NMFS
West Coast Region Web site at https://
www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov. Only
tuna used in tuna products labeled
dolphin-safe and harvested on fishing
trips that began after the date of a
determination would be subject to the
new requirement for an observer
certification, and only for fishing trips
on which an observer is on board the
vessel.
In this notice, NMFS requests public
input on criteria to assist the Assistant
Administrator in making a
determination of whether an observer
program is ‘‘qualified and authorized.’’
After consideration of public comments,
NMFS will publish the final criteria in
the Federal Register.
Dated: February 18, 2014.
Rodney R. McInnis,
Acting Director, Office of International
Affairs, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014–03945 Filed 2–21–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XD142
Endangered and Threatened Species;
Take of Anadromous Fish
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Issuance of four scientific
research and enhancement permits.
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given that
NMFS has issued Permit 17913 to
Stillwater Sciences, Permit 17551 and
Permit 18181 to the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife
(CDFW), and Permit 1415 to the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS).
SUMMARY:
The approved application
for each permit is available on the
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Applications and Permits for Protected
Species (APPS), https://
apps.nmfs.noaa.gov Web site by
searching the permit number within the
Search Database page. The applications,
issued permits and supporting
documents are also available upon
written request or by appointment:
NMFS West Coast Region, 650 Capitol
Mall, Room 5–100, Sacramento, CA
95814 ph: (916) 930–3600, fax: (916)
930–3629.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Amanda Cranford at (916) 930–3706, or
email: Amanda.Cranford@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority
The 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. Authority to take listed species is
subject to the conditions set forth in the
permits. Permits and modifications are
issued in accordance with and are
subject to the ESA and NMFS
regulations (50 CFR parts 222–226)
governing listed fish and wildlife
permits.
Species Covered in This Notice
This notice is relevant to federally
endangered Sacramento River (SR)
winter-run Chinook salmon
(Oncorhyncus tshawytscha), threatened
Central Valley (CV) spring-run Chinook
salmon (O. tshawytscha), threatened
California Central Valley (CCV)
steelhead (O. mykiss), and threatened
southern distinct population segment
(SDPS) of North American green
sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris).
Permits Issued
Permit 17913
A notice of the receipt of an
application for a scientific research and
enhancement permit (17913) was
published in the Federal Register on
March 28, 2013 (78 FR 18963). Permit
17913 was issued to Stillwater Sciences
on September 6, 2013 and expires on
December 31, 2018.
Permit 17913 is for two studies to be
carried out in the Tuolumne River
between river mile (RM) 52.5 and RM 0,
and in the San Joaquin River between
RM 79 (Gardner Cove) and RM 90 (Laird
Park). The Tuolumne River fisheries
monitoring project will evaluate and
E:\FR\FM\24FEN1.SGM
24FEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 36 / Monday, February 24, 2014 / Notices
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
measure ESA-listed salmonid and nonlisted fish species distribution,
population abundance, habitat
utilization, and habitat quality in the
lower Tuolumne River in Stanislaus
County, California. This project will
monitor the effects of water diversion
facilities maintained by the Turlock and
Modesto Irrigation Districts on ESAlisted salmonids and non-listed fish
species and the effects of past and
ongoing habitat restoration actions to
provide information and guide future
habitat restoration and management
actions within the Tuolumne River
watershed. This study includes
observational snorkel surveys as well as
direct collection and handling of
juvenile fall-run Chinook salmon and
CCV steelhead using beach seine
methods. Any captured juvenile CCV
steelhead will be handled (sedated and
measured for length and weight), placed
in an aerated bucket to recover, and
released downstream of the capture site.
The Tuolumne River O. mykiss
Temperature Adaptation Assessment
project will examine temperature
tolerances of juvenile salmonid life
stages that inhabit the lower Tuolumne
River. Fish collected for this project may
potentially include ESA-listed CCV
steelhead. Up to 50 juvenile O. mykiss
will be collected from the Tuolumne
River during summer months (JuneSeptember) of each year using beach
seine methods between La Grange
powerhouse (RM 52.2) and Roberts
Ferry Bridge (RM 39.5). Individual test
fish will be placed in Brett swim tubes
and tested for physiological
performance, measuring both a routine,
or resting (minimum) respiratory rate
and a swimming (maximum) respiratory
rate at a single test temperature. Test
fish would be allowed to fully recover
prior to release in the lower Tuolumne
River.
Permit 17551
A notice of the receipt of an
application for a scientific research and
enhancement permit (17551) was
published in the Federal Register on
March 28, 2013 (78 FR 18963). Permit
17551 was issued to the CDFW’s Region
II on September 9, 2013 and expires on
December 31, 2018.
The overall goal of this project is to
increase knowledge with regards to the
behavior of young of the year and
yearling SDPS green sturgeon from the
Sacramento River and their presumed
nursery grounds of the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta and subsequently the
ocean staging habitat of San Francisco
Bay. Information on timing, survival,
and transition rates through the bay and
Delta region are necessary for
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:16 Feb 21, 2014
Jkt 232001
understanding potential risks to juvenile
green sturgeon.
The study proposed for Permit 17551
will be a collaborative effort between
the University of California Davis
Biotelemetry Laboratory and CDFW.
Objectives are to: (1) Develop capture
methods for monitoring of juvenile
green and white sturgeon in the lower
Sacramento River and Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta; (2) Describe spatial and
temporal movements during emigration
from the lower Sacramento River to the
tidally influenced reaches of the upper
Delta; (3) Assess the seasonal migration
and survival through engineered flood
plains (Yolo Bypass); and (4) Describe
spatial and temporal use of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and
behavior and emigration timing to San
Francisco Bay. CDFW is proposing to
capture (tangle nets, modified fyke
nets), handle (measure lengths and
weights, surgical implantation of
acoustic tags), and release juvenile
SDPS green sturgeon once adequately
recovered.
Permit 18181
A notice of the receipt of an
application for a scientific research and
enhancement permit (18181) was
published in the Federal Register on
September 25, 2013 (78 FR 59005).
Permit 18181 was issued to the CDFW’s
Region II on January 14, 2014 and
expires on December 31, 2018.
The primary purpose of Permit 18181
will be to assess entrainment following
inundation at weir structures in the
Central Valley during high flow events
and within the Colusa Basin Drainage
Canal (CBDC). If entrainment occurs,
fish will be rescued and relocated to the
lower Sacramento River near Tisdale
Weir, in Sutter County, California. The
objectives of the proposed rescue and
monitoring are to: (1) Capture, tag and
relocate SR winter-run Chinook salmon
and other species of management
concern in the lower reaches of the
CBDC or at Wallace Weir within the
Yolo Bypass to estimate the number of
fish entering the CBDC; (2) Construct
and place modified fyke traps at key
locations within the interior of the
CBDC system to capture, tag and
relocate stranded fish if the weirs lower
in the system are not successful at
stopping fish; (3) Assess the level of
entrainment behind Fremont and
Tisdale weirs and evaluate the survival
and behavior of entrained adults that are
rescued and relocated following
increased flows and flooding; and (4)
Identify conditions resulting in high
levels of entrainment specific to each
location.
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
10103
The take associated with rescue and
research activities involving ESA-listed
salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon will
include: capture (resistance board weir,
fyke traps, block nets, hoop nets, beach
seines), handling (measurements,
weights, fin clips for genetic analysis,
application of Floy tags, surgical
implantation of acoustic tags), transport
(if applicable) and the release of ESAlisted salmonids and SDPS green
sturgeon back into the Sacramento
River.
Permit 1415
A notice of the receipt of an
application for modification of a
scientific research and enhancement
permit (1415) was published in the
Federal Register on September 25, 2013
(78 FR 59005). Permit 1415 was issued
to the USFWS, Red Bluff Fish and
Wildlife Office on February 6, 2014 and
expires on December 31, 2018.
The overall purpose of the projects is
to provide monitoring data for various
evaluations, including restoration
actions, stream flow assessments,
management actions, and life-history
investigations. Species under
investigation include SR winter-run
Chinook salmon, CV spring-run
Chinook salmon, CCV steelhead, and
SDPS green sturgeon. Streams targeted
for research and monitoring include
Battle Creek, Clear Creek, and the
mainstem of the upper Sacramento
River (i.e., upper river and surrounding
watersheds).
Take resulting from the proposed
research and monitoring activities will
involve observations (snorkel surveys,
redd counts and escapement/stream
surveys) or capture (by trawl, seine,
fyke-net trap, benthic D-net, substrate
samplers, hook and line, backpack
electrofishing, weir trap, trammel or gill
net, rotary screw trap, egg mats, or by
dip net), handling (sedation, fin
clipping, tissue sampling, coded-wire
tag extraction, otolith extraction),
marking (Bismark brown Y stain),
tagging (acoustic, passive integrated
transponder [PIT]), and release of fish in
association with eight separate projects.
Dated: February 19, 2014.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office
of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014–03806 Filed 2–21–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\24FEN1.SGM
24FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 36 (Monday, February 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10102-10103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03806]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XD142
Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Issuance of four scientific research and enhancement permits.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that NMFS has issued Permit 17913 to
Stillwater Sciences, Permit 17551 and Permit 18181 to the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and Permit 1415 to the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
ADDRESSES: The approved application for each permit is available on the
Applications and Permits for Protected Species (APPS), https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov Web site by searching the permit number within the
Search Database page. The applications, issued permits and supporting
documents are also available upon written request or by appointment:
NMFS West Coast Region, 650 Capitol Mall, Room 5-100, Sacramento, CA
95814 ph: (916) 930-3600, fax: (916) 930-3629.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Cranford at (916) 930-3706, or
email: Amanda.Cranford@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority
The 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.
Authority to take listed species is subject to the conditions set forth
in the permits. Permits and modifications are issued in accordance with
and are subject to the ESA and NMFS regulations (50 CFR parts 222-226)
governing listed fish and wildlife permits.
Species Covered in This Notice
This notice is relevant to federally endangered Sacramento River
(SR) winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhyncus tshawytscha), threatened
Central Valley (CV) spring-run Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha),
threatened California Central Valley (CCV) steelhead (O. mykiss), and
threatened southern distinct population segment (SDPS) of North
American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris).
Permits Issued
Permit 17913
A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research
and enhancement permit (17913) was published in the Federal Register on
March 28, 2013 (78 FR 18963). Permit 17913 was issued to Stillwater
Sciences on September 6, 2013 and expires on December 31, 2018.
Permit 17913 is for two studies to be carried out in the Tuolumne
River between river mile (RM) 52.5 and RM 0, and in the San Joaquin
River between RM 79 (Gardner Cove) and RM 90 (Laird Park). The Tuolumne
River fisheries monitoring project will evaluate and
[[Page 10103]]
measure ESA-listed salmonid and non-listed fish species distribution,
population abundance, habitat utilization, and habitat quality in the
lower Tuolumne River in Stanislaus County, California. This project
will monitor the effects of water diversion facilities maintained by
the Turlock and Modesto Irrigation Districts on ESA-listed salmonids
and non-listed fish species and the effects of past and ongoing habitat
restoration actions to provide information and guide future habitat
restoration and management actions within the Tuolumne River watershed.
This study includes observational snorkel surveys as well as direct
collection and handling of juvenile fall-run Chinook salmon and CCV
steelhead using beach seine methods. Any captured juvenile CCV
steelhead will be handled (sedated and measured for length and weight),
placed in an aerated bucket to recover, and released downstream of the
capture site.
The Tuolumne River O. mykiss Temperature Adaptation Assessment
project will examine temperature tolerances of juvenile salmonid life
stages that inhabit the lower Tuolumne River. Fish collected for this
project may potentially include ESA-listed CCV steelhead. Up to 50
juvenile O. mykiss will be collected from the Tuolumne River during
summer months (June-September) of each year using beach seine methods
between La Grange powerhouse (RM 52.2) and Roberts Ferry Bridge (RM
39.5). Individual test fish will be placed in Brett swim tubes and
tested for physiological performance, measuring both a routine, or
resting (minimum) respiratory rate and a swimming (maximum) respiratory
rate at a single test temperature. Test fish would be allowed to fully
recover prior to release in the lower Tuolumne River.
Permit 17551
A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research
and enhancement permit (17551) was published in the Federal Register on
March 28, 2013 (78 FR 18963). Permit 17551 was issued to the CDFW's
Region II on September 9, 2013 and expires on December 31, 2018.
The overall goal of this project is to increase knowledge with
regards to the behavior of young of the year and yearling SDPS green
sturgeon from the Sacramento River and their presumed nursery grounds
of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and subsequently the ocean staging
habitat of San Francisco Bay. Information on timing, survival, and
transition rates through the bay and Delta region are necessary for
understanding potential risks to juvenile green sturgeon.
The study proposed for Permit 17551 will be a collaborative effort
between the University of California Davis Biotelemetry Laboratory and
CDFW. Objectives are to: (1) Develop capture methods for monitoring of
juvenile green and white sturgeon in the lower Sacramento River and
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; (2) Describe spatial and temporal
movements during emigration from the lower Sacramento River to the
tidally influenced reaches of the upper Delta; (3) Assess the seasonal
migration and survival through engineered flood plains (Yolo Bypass);
and (4) Describe spatial and temporal use of the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta and behavior and emigration timing to San Francisco Bay. CDFW is
proposing to capture (tangle nets, modified fyke nets), handle (measure
lengths and weights, surgical implantation of acoustic tags), and
release juvenile SDPS green sturgeon once adequately recovered.
Permit 18181
A notice of the receipt of an application for a scientific research
and enhancement permit (18181) was published in the Federal Register on
September 25, 2013 (78 FR 59005). Permit 18181 was issued to the CDFW's
Region II on January 14, 2014 and expires on December 31, 2018.
The primary purpose of Permit 18181 will be to assess entrainment
following inundation at weir structures in the Central Valley during
high flow events and within the Colusa Basin Drainage Canal (CBDC). If
entrainment occurs, fish will be rescued and relocated to the lower
Sacramento River near Tisdale Weir, in Sutter County, California. The
objectives of the proposed rescue and monitoring are to: (1) Capture,
tag and relocate SR winter-run Chinook salmon and other species of
management concern in the lower reaches of the CBDC or at Wallace Weir
within the Yolo Bypass to estimate the number of fish entering the
CBDC; (2) Construct and place modified fyke traps at key locations
within the interior of the CBDC system to capture, tag and relocate
stranded fish if the weirs lower in the system are not successful at
stopping fish; (3) Assess the level of entrainment behind Fremont and
Tisdale weirs and evaluate the survival and behavior of entrained
adults that are rescued and relocated following increased flows and
flooding; and (4) Identify conditions resulting in high levels of
entrainment specific to each location.
The take associated with rescue and research activities involving
ESA-listed salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon will include: capture
(resistance board weir, fyke traps, block nets, hoop nets, beach
seines), handling (measurements, weights, fin clips for genetic
analysis, application of Floy tags, surgical implantation of acoustic
tags), transport (if applicable) and the release of ESA-listed
salmonids and SDPS green sturgeon back into the Sacramento River.
Permit 1415
A notice of the receipt of an application for modification of a
scientific research and enhancement permit (1415) was published in the
Federal Register on September 25, 2013 (78 FR 59005). Permit 1415 was
issued to the USFWS, Red Bluff Fish and Wildlife Office on February 6,
2014 and expires on December 31, 2018.
The overall purpose of the projects is to provide monitoring data
for various evaluations, including restoration actions, stream flow
assessments, management actions, and life-history investigations.
Species under investigation include SR winter-run Chinook salmon, CV
spring-run Chinook salmon, CCV steelhead, and SDPS green sturgeon.
Streams targeted for research and monitoring include Battle Creek,
Clear Creek, and the mainstem of the upper Sacramento River (i.e.,
upper river and surrounding watersheds).
Take resulting from the proposed research and monitoring activities
will involve observations (snorkel surveys, redd counts and escapement/
stream surveys) or capture (by trawl, seine, fyke-net trap, benthic D-
net, substrate samplers, hook and line, backpack electrofishing, weir
trap, trammel or gill net, rotary screw trap, egg mats, or by dip net),
handling (sedation, fin clipping, tissue sampling, coded-wire tag
extraction, otolith extraction), marking (Bismark brown Y stain),
tagging (acoustic, passive integrated transponder [PIT]), and release
of fish in association with eight separate projects.
Dated: February 19, 2014.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-03806 Filed 2-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
