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NOAA Receives Application to Study Five Sea Turtle Species in Northern Gulf of America

A researcher at Dauphin Island Sea Lab has applied for a 10-year federal permit to capture and study up to 168 sea turtles annually across five endangered and threatened species.

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The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), within the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has announced receipt of a scientific research permit application from Katrina Phillips, Ph.D., of Dauphin Island Sea Lab, located at 101 Bienville Blvd., Dauphin Island, AL 36528. The application, filed as File No. 29736, seeks authorization to take loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

Proposed Research Activities

The permit is requested under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, and the regulations governing the taking, importing, and exporting of endangered and threatened species set out at 50 CFR parts 222–226. According to the notice, the applicant proposes to study juvenile, subadult, and adult sea turtle demography and distribution in the northern Gulf of America, with the permit requested for a duration of 10 years.

Researchers would capture sea turtles using tangle and dip net methods. The proposed annual capture limits are up to 60 green, 7 hawksbill, 60 Kemp's ridley, 40 loggerhead, and 1 leatherback sea turtles. Prior to release, each animal would undergo a suite of procedures, including epibiota removal, flipper tagging, passive integrated transponder tagging, biological sampling (skin swab, blood, scute, fecal, and skin biopsy), measurement, weighing, and photography or video documentation. The notice further states that a subset of green, Kemp's ridley, and loggerhead sea turtles may receive a transmitter attachment.

What to Watch

The public comment period closes on August 17, 2026. Written comments must be received by NMFS on or before that date. The application was dated July 14, 2026, and published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2026, under document number FR Doc. 2026-14383. The notice was signed by Larissa Plants, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.

Related

Sources

12 cited

Every hard fact above is grounded in and cited to a primary source record.

  1. The applicant is Katrina Phillips, Ph.D., of Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Blvd., Dauphin Island, AL 36528.

    federalregister.gov

  2. The application is filed under File No. 29736.

    federalregister.gov

  3. The application seeks to take loggerhead, green, Kemp's ridley, hawksbill, and leatherback sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

    federalregister.gov

  4. The permit is requested under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, and regulations at 50 CFR parts 222–226.

    federalregister.gov

  5. The applicant proposes to study juvenile, subadult, and adult sea turtle demography and distribution in the northern Gulf of America.

    federalregister.gov

  6. The permit is requested for 10 years.

    federalregister.gov

  7. Researchers would capture up to 60 green, 7 hawksbill, 60 Kemp's ridley, 40 loggerhead, and 1 leatherback sea turtles by tangle and dip net annually.

    federalregister.gov

  8. Procedures to be performed on sea turtles prior to release include epibiota removal, flipper tag, passive integrated transponder tag, biologically sample (skin swab, blood, scute, fecal, and skin biopsy), measure, weigh, and photograph/video.

    federalregister.gov

  9. A subset of green, Kemp's ridley, and loggerhead sea turtles may receive a transmitter attachment.

    federalregister.gov

  10. Written comments must be received on or before August 17, 2026.

    federalregister.gov

  11. The application was dated July 14, 2026, and published under FR Doc. 2026-14383.

    federalregister.gov

  12. The notice was signed by Larissa Plants, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.

    federalregister.gov

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