A Programmatic Approach to Permitting Scientific Research and Enhancement

Introduction

The Office of Protected Resources’ Permits and Conservation Division has developed a new programmatic approach to permitting scientific research and enhancement for certain endangered and threatened species.  The purpose of programmatic permitting is to enhance conservation and recovery of our species, cumulatively evaluate our permitted research, and streamline the process for you.  

We are now implementing programmatic permitting for

• Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon.
• Smalltooth sawfish.
• Sea turtles in water.
• Cetaceans.

Benefits to Researchers

• Permit duration:  For sturgeon, sea turtle, and sawfish researchers, you may qualify for a 10-year permit if your long-term research fits within the scope of a programmatic ESA consultation!  We hope to have 10-year permits available for marine mammal researchers in the future.
• Annual permit application cycle:  The programmatic framework establishes an annual permit cycle, which varies by taxa. This allows you to better plan for your field work and also allows us to better manage our workload to provide for more predictable processing times.  Learn how to apply for a permit. 
• Standard reporting schedule and report form:  The programmatic framework also establishes a standardized reporting schedule, where all researchers for the same taxa must submit reports at the same time.  This reporting period has been selected to minimize disruptions of most researchers' field seasons.  It also allows us to more effectively monitor and manage “take” cumulatively across permits in a given program.  All issued permits will use our streamlined report form, including a combined annual and final report. 

Annual Cycle and Application Deadlines

Programmatic permit application cycle and reporting dates

If your activities fall within the scope of a programmatic ESA consultation: submit new applications and major modifications (i.e., increasing take numbers or adding species, locations, or methods with greater risk to the animals), following the dates in the table above. If you miss the submission date, you may have to wait until the next cycle begins. 

If your request does not fit within the scope of a programmatic consultation: you may apply at any time, at least one year before your planned fieldwork.

You may request minor changes to your permit (e.g., editing personnel, changing research objectives) at any time. 

Submit your request in APPS following the application instructions for your target species group (e.g., sturgeon, sea turtles and sawfish or marine mammals).  

If you submit your permitting requests within the above timelines and the request is complete and falls within the scope of the consultation for your species, we can process your application in approximately 6 months.  If your application is incomplete, it may be returned and processing will take longer.

Atlantic and Shortnose Sturgeon

What’s covered in the sturgeon programmatic consultation?

We evaluated all commonly authorized capture techniques (e.g., trawl, gill and seine nets) and methodologies (e.g., fin clip, gastric lavage, passive integrated transponder [PIT] tagging, internal instruments) as part of the sturgeon programmatic consultation.

Although the programmatic ESA consultation is broad in scope, it does not include novel activities for which impacts to the individual or species are unknown.  For example, this consultation does not include electroshocking as a capture method.

Revised research protocols for all Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon permit applicants

Regardless of whether your research fits within the scope of the sturgeon programmatic consultation, the following conditions apply:   

• “Takes” are required to be specified by location (e.g., James River, coastal [latitude/longitude]) in take tables.
• Life stages must be identified as follows:
  • Atlantic sturgeon:
    • ELS (early life stages; eggs to larvae (<60mm Total Length [TL]).
    • Juveniles (< 1000 mm Fork Length [FL]).
    • Sub-adults (1000-1300 mm FL).
    • Adults (> 1300 mm FL).
  • Shortnose sturgeon:
    • ELS (early life stages; eggs to larvae (<60mm TL).
    • Juveniles (< 450 mm FL).
    • Sub-adults (450-600 mm FL).
    • Adults (> 600 mm FL).

Sturgeon mortality bank

We established limits on the number of research-related mortalities that may occur each year for each life stage of both Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon.  We manage each species by three mortality banks:  1) early life stage (ELS), 2) juvenile, and 3) sub-adult and adult.  Within each bank, the limits are river-specific.  As you are working on your application, remember:

• Life stages are required to be separately documented in your take table rows; however, sub-adult and adult sturgeon life stages can be combined.
• Take tables need to be location-specific.
• Unintentional mortality requests must be justified in your application.

Due to delayed mortality concerns, we are monitoring impacts of internal acoustic tagging and gastric lavage.  In your take table

• No individual sturgeon can undergo both procedures.
• Separate these activities into different rows; do not “nest” them within your broader request. See example table below.

Sturgeon take table example

A total of 200 sturgeon are proposed for capture and sampling, within only 10 receiving internal tags. The 10 internal tags are entered as their own row and are not "nested."

Smalltooth Sawfish

What’s covered in the sawfish programmatic consultation?

We evaluated all commonly authorized capture techniques (e.g., longline, gill and seine nets) and methodologies (e.g. fin clip, passive integrated transponder [PIT] tagging, internal instruments) as part of the sawfish programmatic consultation.

Revised research protocols for all smalltooth sawfish permit applicants

Regardless of whether your research fits within the scope of the smalltooth sawfish programmatic consultation, the following conditions apply:    

• Life stages must be identified as follows:
  • Neonate/Juvenile:  < 2,200 mm in length
  • Sub-adult/Adult:  ≥ 2,200 mm in length

Smalltooth sawfish mortality bank

We established limits on the number of research-related mortalities that may occur each year for each life stage.  We manage the species by two mortality banks:  1) neonate/juvenile, and 2) sub-adult and adult.  As you are working on your application, remember:

• Smalltooth sawfish life stages are required to be separately documented in your take table rows using the life stage definitions described above.
• Unintentional mortality requests must be justified in your application.

Due to delayed mortality concerns, we are monitoring impacts of internal acoustic tagging.  In your take table:

• Separate this activity into different rows; do not “nest” it within your broader request. See example table below.

Smalltooth sawfish take table example

A total of 60 adult/subadult smalltooth sawfish are proposed for capture, sampling and telemetry tracking, with 10 receiving both internal and external tags.  The 10 internal tags are entered on a separate row and are not "nested." 

Sea Turtles (in water)

What’s covered in the sea turtle programmatic consultation?

We evaluated most standard methods for conducting research on sea turtles in U.S. and international waters as part of the sea turtle programmatic consultation.  For example, we included common sea turtle capture methods such as dip, tangle, and seine nets and procedures such as flipper tagging, tissue biopsy, and instrument attachment using adhesives.

However, the scope of the consultation does not include research activities having high risks of mortality, outdated methods, or novel activities for which the impacts are uncertain.  Some excluded methods are:

• Capture by longline.
• Trawling in waters > 20 m in depth or > 30 minutes.
• Harnessed transmitter attachments.

Revised research protocols for all sea turtle permit applicants

Regardless of whether your research fits within the scope of the sea turtle programmatic consultation, the following conditions apply:  

• When aerial surveys are conducted, each encounter must end within 45 minutes.
• Sea turtles < 20 cm straight carapace length (SCL) cannot be flipper tagged.
• Sea turtles < 16 cm SCL cannot receive a PIT tag.
• Laparoscopy and associated tissue sampling require direct veterinary oversight.

Do you conduct sea turtle research surveys? 

Brief (< 5 min) vessel and aerial (manned and unmanned) surveys to approach and observe sea turtles in close proximity may not require an ESA permit.  Please discuss your survey protocols with your permit analyst or contact the Permits and Conservation Division at 301-427-8401 before submitting an application.

Sea turtle mortality bank

We established a “bank” that sets 10-year limits on the number of sea turtle mortalities that may occur as a result of research activities, fitting within the scope of the programmatic ESA consultation.  We authorize unintentional sea turtle mortality by individual species and over the life of the permit, not annually.  Mortality requests must mirror this approach and you must provide adequate justification why your research may result in an unintentional mortality.  See example table below.

Sea turtle take table example

Researchers propose to capture 100 sea turtles by trawl net.  The subset of larger turtles that may receive transmitters are separated on their own row and are not "nested."  One lethal take is also requested over the life of the permit due to the risk of mortality when trawling.

Cetaceans

What’s covered in the cetacean programmatic consultation?

We evaluated most standard methods for conducting research on ESA-listed cetaceans in U.S. and international waters as part of the cetacean programmatic consultation. 

Some activities evaluated in the cetacean consultation include:

• Vessel surveys.
• Aerial surveys, including unmanned aircraft systems.
• Photography and filming.
• Passive acoustic recording.
• Active acoustic playbacks.
• Biological sampling (e.g., skin and blubber biopsies, sloughed skin, feces, and exhaled air).
• Tagging.

However, the scope of the cetacean consultation does not include research activities that have a high risk of adverse impacts or risk of mortality, outdated methods, or novel activities for which the impacts are uncertain.  Some excluded methods are:

• Captures.
• Harness-based tags.
• Active acoustics that may cause Level A harassment or injury.

Limits on deep-implant tags

We set conservative limits on deep-implant tags due to the potential for fitness-level impacts to ESA-listed cetaceans.   

We define deep-implant tags as invasive tags that are designed to anchor in either the fascia between muscle and blubber layers or in the muscle. 

Applicants requesting deep-implant tags for ESA-listed cetacean species must apply on the May 1 cycle if you wish to be covered by the programmatic consultation.

No deep-implant tags will be allowed on certain cetaceans:

• Cook Inlet beluga whales.
• Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whales.
• Main Hawaiian Islands insular false killer whales.
• North Atlantic right whales.
• Southern Resident killer whales.
• Sei whales.

For all other ESA-listed cetaceans, the number of deep-implant tags authorized per year is limited to no more than 10% of the best available population estimate.  These include:

• Blue whales.
• Bowhead whales.
• Fin whales.
• Humpback whales.
• North Pacific right whales.
• Southern right whales.
• Sperm whales.
• Western North Pacific gray whales.

These limits are based on a suite of criteria which consider the status, health, blubber thickness relative to tag size, and threats.  The goal of the limits is to ensure the permitting program does not result in fitness-level impacts or jeopardize the continued existence of the species.  Adaptive management is included in the programmatic framework to allow for flexibility on an annual basis using the best available scientific information. 

To accurately monitor and evaluate reported tagging takes, separate tag types into different rows in your take tables; do not “nest” them within your other Level A activities.  See the example below. 

Cetacean take table example

Researchers propose to biopsy sample 80 whales, 40 of which would also receive a tag.  The tag types are separated into their own rows and are not "nested."

Questions?

Contact your permit analyst or call the Permits and Conservation Division at 301-427-8401.