[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 44 (Thursday, March 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12905-12906]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04479]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XA049]
Endangered and Threatened Species; Initiation of 5-Year Reviews
for Eulachon, Yelloweye Rockfish, Bocaccio, and Green Sturgeon
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of initiation of 5-year reviews; request for
information.
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SUMMARY: We, NMFS, are announcing 5-year reviews of four species listed
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. The four
distinct population segments (DPSs) included in this notice are the
southern DPS of eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus), the Puget Sound/
Georgia Basin DPSs of yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) and
bocaccio (S. paucispinis), and the southern DPS of green sturgeon
(Acipenser medirostris). The purpose of these reviews is to ensure the
accuracy of the listing classifications of these threatened and
endangered species. The 5-year reviews will be based on the best
scientific and commercial data available at the time of the reviews;
therefore, we are requesting that interested parties submit any new
relevant information on these DPSs that has become available since the
original listing determinations or since the species' status was last
updated. Based on the results of these 5-year reviews, we will make the
requisite determinations under the ESA.
DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct these reviews, we must
receive your information no later than June 3, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit information document, identified by NOAA-
NMFS-2020-0022, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov. To
submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, first click the ``submit a
comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2020-0022 in the keyword search.
Locate in the resulting list the document you wish to comment on and
click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon to the right of that line.
Mail or Hand-Delivery: Address comments to Robert Markle,
NMFS, West Coast Region, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 1100, Portland, OR
97232.
Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above
methods to ensure that we can receive, document, and consider them.
Comments sent by any other method, sent to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of the comment period may not be
considered. All comments received are a part of the public record and
will generally be posted for public viewing on www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name,
address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive or protected information. We request that all
information be accompanied by: (1) Supporting documentation such as
maps, bibliographic references, or reprints of pertinent publications;
and (2) the submitter's name, address, and any association,
institution, or business that the person represents. We will accept
anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to
remain anonymous). Please note that submissions without supporting
information--those merely stating support for or opposition to the
action under consideration--will be noted but not used in making any
listing determinations because such comments do not represent actual
scientific or commercial data.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob Markle at the above address, by
phone at (503) 230-5419, or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 4(c)(2)(A) of the ESA requires that
we conduct a review of listed species at least once every five years.
On the basis of such reviews, we determine under section 4(c)(2)(B)
whether a species should be delisted or reclassified from endangered to
threatened or from threatened to endangered.
[[Page 12906]]
We will undertake reviews for the southern DPS of eulachon, the
Puget Sound/Georgia Basin DPSs of yelloweye rockfish and bocaccio, and
the southern DPS of green sturgeon. Information about these four DPSs
can be found at our West Coast regional website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/west-coast.
Our regulations for periodic reviews at 50 CFR 424.21 require that
we publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing those species
currently under active review. This notice announces our active reviews
of the DPSs listed above. Any change in listing classification would
require a separate rulemaking process.
Determining if a Species Is Threatened or Endangered
Section 4(a)(1) of the ESA requires that we determine whether a
species is endangered or threatened based on one or more of the five
following factors: (1) The present or threatened destruction,
modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; (2)
overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes; (3) disease or predation; (4) the inadequacy of
existing regulatory mechanisms; or (5) other natural or manmade factors
affecting its continued existence. Section 4(b) also requires that our
determination be made on the basis of the best scientific and
commercial data available after taking into account those efforts, if
any, being made by any State or foreign nation, to protect such
species.
Application of the DPS Policy
NMFS is responsible for determining whether species, subspecies, or
DPSs of marine and anadromous species are threatened or endangered
under the ESA. For these four species, NMFS applies the joint US Fish
and Wildlife Service-NMFS DPS policy (61 FR 4722, February 7, 1996) in
identifying the appropriate taxonomic unit for listing consideration.
Under this policy, a DPS must be discrete from other conspecific
populations, and it must be significant to its taxon. A group of
organisms is discrete if it is ``markedly separated from other
populations of the same taxon as a consequence of physical,
physiological, ecological, and behavioral factors.'' Under the DPS
Policy, if a population group is determined to be discrete, the agency
must then consider whether it is significant to the taxon to which it
belongs. Considerations in evaluating the significance of a discrete
population include: (1) Persistence of the discrete population in an
unusual or unique ecological setting for the taxon; (2) evidence that
the loss of the discrete population segment would cause a significant
gap in the taxon's range; (3) evidence that the discrete population
segment represents the only surviving natural occurrence of a taxon
that may be more abundant elsewhere outside its historical geographic
range; or (4) evidence that the discrete population has marked genetic
differences from other populations of the species.
Public Solicitation of New Information
The 5-year reviews will consider the best scientific and commercial
data available and new information that has become available since the
species' previous status review. Our Northwest and Southwest Fisheries
Science Centers will assist the West Coast Region in gathering and
analyzing this information. To ensure that the 5-year reviews are
complete and based on the best available information, we are soliciting
new information from the public, concerned governmental agencies,
Native American tribes, the scientific community, industry,
environmental entities, and any other interested parties regarding the
status of the southern DPS of eulachon, the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin
DPSs of yelloweye rockfish and bocaccio, and the southern DPS of green
sturgeon.
Specifically, we are seeking new information (generated since 2015)
on: (1) Population abundance; (2) population productivity; (3) changes
in species distribution or population spatial structure; (4) genetics
or other measures of diversity; (5) changes in habitat conditions; (6)
conservation measures that have been implemented to benefit the
species--including monitoring data demonstrating the effectiveness of
such measures in addressing identified limiting factors or threats; (7)
the status and trends of identified limiting factors or threats; and
(8) other new information, data, or corrections including, but not
limited to, taxonomic or nomenclatural changes, identification of
erroneous information in the previous listing determination, and
improved analytical methods.
With respect to the southern DPS of eulachon, we request any new
information concerning (1) the species' spatial distribution and
abundance in freshwater and marine environments, (2) the species'
genetics, (3) the effects of climate variability and how anthropogenic-
forced climate drivers affect eulachon and their freshwater and marine
habitats, (4) the effects of ocean acidification on eulachon, (5)
eulachon bycatch in the ocean shrimp fisheries, (6) predation on
eulachon, and (7) the effects of dams and channel-spanning water
control structures on estuary-plume environments.
With respect to Puget Sound/Georgia Basin DPSs of yelloweye and
bocaccio, we request any new information concerning (1) the species'
spatial distribution and habitat associations among larval, young-of-
the-year, and adult fish in nearshore and deep-water environments; (2)
the effectiveness of regulations in protecting and restoring rockfish
habitats; (3) the species' genetics; (4) the effects of contaminants on
species productivity, growth, and survival; (5) the effects of climate
change and ocean acidification; on these rockfish species; (6) catch or
bycatch of these species in specific fisheries, including information
on the ability of anglers to properly identify rockfish by species; (7)
the effectiveness of fisheries management with respect to reducing
impacts on these rockfish species; (8) efforts to remove and prevent
derelict fishing gear; (9) enumeration of bycatch by derelict fishing
gear; and (10) the use and effectiveness of devices designed to reduce
the effects of barotrauma in rockfish bycatch.
With respect to the southern DPS of green sturgeon, we request any
new information concerning (1) the species' biology--including, but not
limited to, population trends, distribution, abundance, demographics,
and genetics; (2) habitat conditions--including, but not limited to,
amount, distribution, and suitability; (3) conservation measures that
have been implemented to benefit the species; (4) status and trends of
threats; (5) other new information, data, or improved analytical
methods; and (6) corrections--including but not limited to, taxonomic
or nomenclatural changes.
If you wish to provide information for these 5-year reviews, you
may submit your information and materials to Rob Markle (see
ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.
Dated: February 28, 2020.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-04479 Filed 3-4-20; 8:45 am]
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