Notice2026-09076
Endangered and Threatened Species; File No. 27490
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 7, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
Notice is hereby given that the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) has been issued a permit for the incidental take of Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed sea turtles and sturgeon associated with the otherwise lawful fisheries survey activities.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 88 (Thursday, May 7, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 88 (Thursday, May 7, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24807-24809]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-09076]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF162]
Endangered and Threatened Species; File No. 27490
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the University of Massachusetts
Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) has been
issued a permit for the incidental take of Endangered Species Act (ESA)
listed sea turtles and sturgeon associated with the otherwise lawful
fisheries survey activities.
ADDRESSES: The incidental take permit, final Environmental Assessment,
and other related documents are available on the NMFS Office of
Protected Resources website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/endangered-species-conservation/incidental-take-permits">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/endangered-species-conservation/incidental-take-permits</a>
[[Page 24808]]
under the section heading Related Documents for the Incidental Take
Permit to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine
Science and Technology (Sea Turtles and Sturgeon).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Celeste Stout, NMFS, Office of
Protected Resources at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5615333a33252233782522392322163839373778313920"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0f4c6a636a7c7b6a217c7b607a7b4f61606e6e21686079">[email protected]</span></a>, 301-427-8436.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 9 of the ESA and Federal regulations
prohibit the `taking' of a species listed as endangered or threatened.
The ESA defines ``take'' to mean harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot,
wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any
such conduct. NMFS may issue permits, under limited circumstances, to
take listed species incidental to, and not the purpose of, otherwise
lawful activities. Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA provides a mechanism
for authorizing incidental take of listed species. NMFS regulations
governing permits for threatened and endangered species are located at
50 CFR 222.307.
Species Covered in This Permit
The following species are included in this permit:
Endangered
Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) and leatherback (Dermochelys
coriacea) sea turtles, and the New York Bight, Chesapeake, Carolina,
and South Atlantic distinct population segments (DPSs) of Atlantic
sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus).
Threatened
North Atlantic DPSs of green (Chelonia mydas) and Northwest
Atlantic Ocean DPS of loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtles, and the
Gulf of Maine DPS of Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus
oxyrinchus).
Background
NMFS received a draft permit application and conservation plan from
SMAST on September 29, 2022. Based on our review of the draft
application, we requested further information and clarification. After
several draft submissions and reviews, on June 13, 2023, SMAST
submitted a revised application and NMFS determined SMAST's application
to be adequate and complete. On July 6, 2023, we published a notice of
receipt (88 FR 43082) of the application and conservation plan from
SMAST for an incidental take permit. In that notice, we made the
Incidental Take Permit (ITP) application and associated conservation
plan available for a 30-day public comment period. Two requests to
extend the comment period were submitted on August 7, 2023, the last
day of the open comment period. In response to the extension requests,
on August 16, 2023, NMFS published a notice in the Federal Register (88
FR 55668) reopening the comment period for 15 days. The second public
comment period ended on August 31, 2023, and three comments were
received. The comments received and their accompanying responses are
located in Appendix A of the Environmental Assessment (EA). In response
to public comments and after additional discussions between NMFS and
the applicant, additional revisions were made to the application and
conservation plan to address these comments, as appropriate, and a
revised application was submitted to NMFS for review on November 30,
2023. The application and conservation plan were further revised to
remove a project from the ``covered activities,'' and an updated
version was submitted to NMFS on December 3, 2024. Revisions applicable
to the SMAST's proposed action and conservation plan were included in
the draft EA. On January 8, 2025, NMFS published a Federal Register
notice to inform the public of the availability of and request for
comments on the draft EA (90 FR 1448). The public comment period ended
on February 7, 2025, and no comments were received. Revisions
applicable to SMAST's proposed action and conservation plan are
included in the Final EA. SMAST agreed to implement additional
monitoring and avoidance measures, and NMFS updated the EA, as well as
the findings of the section 7 Biological Opinion, to incorporate those
measures.
NMFS has issued the requested incidental take permit under the
authority of the ESA, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the
section 10 implementing regulations (50 CFR part 222).
Incidental take by species in rolling 2-year (ITP year) intervals
for the 10-year ITP duration that are authorized under the permit were
based on calculated interaction rates using observed takes in similar
fisheries surveys (i.e., Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)
trawl surveys), and sea turtle takes were further informed by observed
sea turtle takes in commercial fisheries (please see section 2.2.2.2,
Requested number of incidental takes in the final EA) see table 1
below.
Table 1--Authorized Non-Lethal Incidental Take by Species
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum
Authorized 2- authorized
Species year rolling take for 10-
take year ITP
duration
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Atlantic Sturgeon (Gulf of Maine, 10 50
Carolina, Chesapeake Bay, New York
Bight, South Atlantic DPSs)............
Green (North Atlantic DPS).............. 2 10
Kemp's Ridley........................... 2 10
Leatherback............................. 2 10
Loggerhead (Northwest Atlantic Ocean 2 10
DPS)...................................
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Incidental take of Atlantic sturgeon is allocated based on their
respective DPS. Below, we describe the approximate assignment of DPS
from the estimated Atlantic sturgeon take across the 10 years of the
requested ITP, based on proportions provided in Kazyk et al. (2021) for
the geographic area ``MID Offshore.'' The approximate assignment by DPS
from the estimated Atlantic sturgeon takes for the 2-year intervals
across the 10 years of the ITP are indicated in table 2 below. Take of
Atlantic sturgeon will affect five DPSs, at a rate of up to 55.3
percent of the New York Bight DPS, 22.9 percent of the Chesapeake Bay
DPS, 13.6 percent of the South Atlantic DPS, 5.8 percent of the
Carolina DPS, and 2.4 percent of the Gulf of Maine DPS. Due to
uncertainty about the exact proportion of each DPS in the offshore
waters of the MA/RI WEA, the estimated breakdown may not perfectly
represent the actual proportion of each DPS. This expected variation is
influenced by natural seasonal and annual fluctuations in the
proportions
[[Page 24809]]
of each DPS. Therefore, it is not possible to precisely estimate the
exact number of individual takes and proportion of each DPS to be
taken.
Table 2--Anticipated Assignment of DPS in SMAST Trawl Survey Derived From NEFSC Trawl Surveys \1\
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Maximum
authorized take New York Bight Chesapeake DPS South Atlantic Carolina DPS Gulf of Maine
Atlantic Sturgeon Disp. for 10-year ITP DPS (55.3%) (22.9%) DPS (13.6%) (5.8%) DPS (2.4%)
duration
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Live.............................................. 50 10 10 10 10 10
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\1\ DPS percentages listed are the percentage values representing the genetics mixed stock analysis results above (Kazyak et al., 2021). Rounding up
fractions of animals to a whole number, this results in one Atlantic sturgeon captured per year from each DPS.
Conservation Plan
As part of their conservation plan, SMAST will implement measures
to monitor, minimize, and mitigate take of ESA-listed species. These
measures include the use of trained observers aboard the research
vessel, adherence to safe handling and release procedures for captured
ESA-listed species, and commitment to data collection and reporting
protocols for any ESA-listed species observed or taken during covered
activities (please see Section 4.2 Measures to minimize, mitigate and
monitor protected species in the SMAST conservation plan and 2.2.2.1
Monitoring, Minimization, and Mitigation of Potential Interactions and
Impacts of Interactions in the EA).
SMAST assures that funds will be available to conduct the proposed
work and associated monitoring, minimization, and mitigation
strategies. The estimated cost for implementing the conservation plan
is $100,000. The associated project developer provides funding for the
surveys and the implementation of the conservation plan to SMAST. SMAST
has committed to ensuring the availability of funding to process all
genetic samples acquired from Atlantic sturgeon and has committed to
having trained observers on board the vessel with proper training in
handling protocols for protected species.
Criteria for Issuing an Incidental Take Permit
Issuance criteria are described in ESA section 10(a)(2)(B) and
associated implementing regulations (50 CFR 222.307(c)(2)). Under
section 10(a)(2)(B) of the ESA, NMFS shall issue the requested
incidental take permit, if NMFS finds that the following criteria are
met:
(i) The taking will be incidental;
(ii) The applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable,
monitor, minimize, and mitigate the impacts of such taking;
(iii) The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the
survival and recovery of the species in the wild;
(iv) The applicant has amended the conservation plan to include any
measures (not originally proposed by the applicant) that the Assistant
Administrator determines are necessary or appropriate; and
(v) There are adequate assurances that the conservation plan will
be funded and implemented, including any measures required by the
Assistant Administrator.
NMFS found that SMAST met the criteria for the issuance of an
incidental take permit, and as such, NMFS issued an incidental take
permit to SMAST for the incidental take of ESA-listed sea turtles and
sturgeon associated with the otherwise lawful fisheries survey
activities within and adjacent to the MA/RI WEA in southern New England
offshore waters.
Dated: May 5, 2026.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-09076 Filed 5-6-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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