[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 19, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-17545]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: July 19, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AB66

 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of 
Comment Period on Proposed Threatened Status for the Goliath Frog

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces that 
additional information received during the comment period on the 
proposed rule to list the goliath frog (Conraua goliath) as threatened 
leaves questions as to whether the listing is warranted. The Service 
has therefore reopened the comment period through October 17, 1994, on 
the proposed action to list the goliath frog as threatened. Information 
received indicated that the species has a slightly wider distribution, 
occurs in a wider range of aquatic habitats, and may be more abundant 
than believed at the time that the proposed rule was issued. In 
addition, local utilization and international trade appears to be less 
of a threat to the species. Additional information on each of these 
considerations is sought. Furthermore, there remains the concern about 
the effect of the unquantified and undescribed effect of loss of 
rainforest habitat on goliath frog populations, and the projections for 
additional habitat loss. Information is also sought of these issues, as 
well as any population estimates or surveys.

DATES: The comment period, which originally closed on November 12, 
1991, now closes October 17, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments, information, and questions should be sent to the 
Chief, Office of Scientific Authority; Mail Stop: Arlington Square, 
room 725; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Washington, DC. 20240. (Fax 
number 703-358-2276). Express and messenger-delivered mail should be 
addressed to the Office of Scientific Authority, room 750, 4401 North 
Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22203. Comments and other 
information received will be available for public inspection, by 
appointment, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the 
Arlington, Virginia address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dr. Charles W. Dane, Chief, Office of Scientific Authority, at the 
above address (phone 703-358-1708).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The goliath frog (Conraua goliath) of Central Africa, reaches a 
recorded weight of up to 7.2 pounds (3.3 kilograms), a head and body 
length of 12.6 inches (320 millimeters), and a total length, including 
the hind leg and foot of about 32 inches (813 millimeters); there have 
been reports of even larger individuals (Sabater-Pi 1985; Zahl 1967). 
However, this giant amphibian has a relatively small range. It occurs 
along major rivers in dense rainforest within an area of about 10,000 
square miles (26,000 square kilometers) in Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, 
and southwestern Cameroon.
    In a petition dated April 9, 1991, the Service was requested to add 
the goliath frog to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The 
petition was submitted by Dr. Cristina M. Richards (Biology Department, 
Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48202) and Dr. Victor H. 
Hutchison (Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 
Oklahoma 73069). It was accompanied by data on the biology of the 
goliath frog, and pointed out such concerns as slow maturation, rarity, 
restricted distribution, habitat destruction, local hunting, 
international trade, high price for living specimens, and poor 
adaptation to captivity.
    Section 4(b)(3) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended 
(Act) requires two findings with respect to a petition to list a 
species. To the maximum extent practical, within 90 days of receipt, a 
finding must be made on whether the petition presents substantial 
information indicating that the requested action may be warranted; and 
if it is determined that the petition presents such information, the 
Service usually announces this finding and initiates a status review 
seeking additional information on the status of the species, Then, 
within 12 months of receipt of the petition, the Service must make a 
finding as to whether the action is warranted, not warranted, or 
warranted but precluded by other listing activity.
    The Service examined the data submitted by the petitioners and 
consulted other authorities. It also learned that the goliath frog is 
classified as vulnerable by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). This 
review led the Service to make both of the required findings, 
determining that the requested action was warranted. These findings 
were incorporated in a proposal to list the goliath frog as a 
threatened species, which was published in the Federal Register of 
September 12, 1991 (56 FR 46397).
    Concurrently with the petition submitted under the Act, the Service 
received a request to propose the listing of the goliath frog in 
Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered 
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in response to a February 7, 
1991, Federal Register notice (56 FR 4965). The Service requested 
comments on this proposal in the July 24, 1991, Federal Register (56 FR 
33894). After reviewing the information received, the Service submitted 
a proposal to include the species in Appendix II on October 4, 1991, in 
order to fully consider information that might become available before 
or at the Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, 
which was held March 2-13, 1992, in Kyoto, Japan. That proposal was 
withdrawn at the CITES meeting.
    The information received in response to the request for comments 
contained in the proposed rule, as well as the comments received at the 
CITES meeting, left questions as to whether listing under the Act is 
warranted. Consequently, a final decision has yet to be announced.

Additional Information Received

    The range of the goliath frog is at least somewhat larger than 
presented in the proposed rule. The original petitioners have indicated 
that the species does occur in a small part of Gabon. The species does 
not appear to be limited to areas of cascades and rapids, but appears 
to be found in broad rivers and deep streams. However, there remains a 
question of whether these river/streams must be well oxygenated and 
whether the species also occurs in slightly brackish water. There is 
concern that the ``frog's habitat is being destroyed to open land for 
cultivation and provide firewood'' (Amiet, pers. comm.), but the loss 
of habitat has not been quantified and establishment of protected areas 
may have stabilized any population decline.
    The species may not be as rare as was thought, and it appears that 
the species may be readily found in small numbers by knowledgeable 
persons. However, no population estimates or surveys are known. Local 
utilization may not be as much of a threat as was originally reported. 
Although the frog may be utilized for food when encountered in 
Cameroon, it is reported that Gabonese do not eat frogs in general or 
use them for traditional medical or religious reasons and that the 
goliath frog is not the object of much trade (Gabon's Director of 
Wildlife per 10/22/91 cable). Furthermore, relatively little is known 
about the reproductive biology of this species; the suggested slow 
maturation is based only on the large size of fully grown individuals. 
Without information on the reproductive biology and productivity, one 
cannot calculate sustainable utilization rates, although this might be 
inferred from other information.
    The threat of international trade appears to be less than believed 
when the proposed rule was published. In response to the proposal by 
the United States to include the goliath frog in Appendix II, a report 
(Brautigam, 1992) cited two negative responses to the Service's 
proposal to list the goliath frog as threatened under the Act plus 
comments from one of the same respondents but addressing the CITES 
Appendix II proposal. This review also noted that the Government of 
Cameroon reportedly prohibits the export of the species for the pet 
trade. Based on the information presented in the U.S. proposal and the 
new information, the CITES Secretariat recommended rejection of the 
U.S. proposal stating that the species does not seem to be threatened 
by international trade. TRAFFIC International also recommended 
rejection of the proposal, but stated that such a listing could serve 
as a monitoring tool to gather trade data (Report on Recommendations on 
Proposals to Amend the CITES Appendices at the Eighth Meeting of the 
Conference of the Parties, TRAFFIC, March 1992).
    The exact number of individuals exported is unknown but most 
reports suggest a figure in the hundreds during the 1980s. Most of the 
international trade was presumed to be to the United States. The 
reported ban on exportation from Cameroon apparently has not been fully 
successful. Service records indicate that at least 78 individuals were 
exported from Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon to the United States in 
1992 and 1993, with only six of these being imported in 1993, one as 
recently as October 21, 1993. Recent information on other international 
trade is lacking.
    A consensus among correspondents is that it is possible to 
successfully transport and maintain the goliath frog, and that some 
individuals have survived for months or years in captivity, but that 
such efforts involve considerable effort and diligence and that many 
have been lost. Furthermore, no one as reported successful breeding of 
this species in captivity. Advertisements submitted by the petitioners 
showed that the asking price in early 1990 was $599.00 for ``small'' 
specimens and $2,500.00 for individuals weighing 6-9 pounds. In July 
1992, a zoo purchased six frogs from an importer at $1,200.00 each. 
After a recent inquiry it was suggested that the price might be between 
$1,500.00 and $1,800.00, but this was qualified by the statement that 
nobody was buying this species.

Public Comments Solicited

    The Service intends that any final decision on the proposed rule 
will accurately reflect the status of the species and will be based on 
the best available scientific and commercial information. Therefore, 
comments and suggestions concerning any aspect of this proposed rule 
are hereby solicited from the public, concerned governmental agencies, 
the scientific community, industry, private interests, and other 
parties. Information is sought on the following listing criteria 
described in the Act:
    (1) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or 
curtailment of this species' habitat or its range,
    (2) Any overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, 
or education purposes;
    (3) Disease factors or natural predation that may threaten this 
species;
    (4) Any inadequacies of existing regulatory mechanisms; and
    (5) Other natural or manmade factors affecting this species' 
continued existence.
    The Service is particularly interested in the following 
information:
    (1) Information on habitat requirements, distribution of that 
habitat, and threats to that habitat, as well as documentation of past 
or future habitat losses and threats to that habitat throughout the 
range of the goliath frog; and in particular quantification of the loss 
of rainforest in the species' range, and information on the 
displacement or extirpation of the species when rainforest along river 
habitat of the species is opened for cultivation.
    (2) Information as to any known population estimates or surveys of 
this species;
    (3) Further information on local utilization of this species;
    (4) Any information on the reproductive biology of this species, 
especially as it may be related to its ability to sustain harvest;
    (5) Information as to the extent of commercial trade in this 
species, especially information on international trade other than 
imports into the United States;
    (6) Information as to current ability to transport and maintain 
this species in captivity; and
    (7) Information as to current ability to reproduce this species in 
captivity.

Literature Cited

Brautigam, A. 1992. Analyses of proposals to amend the CITES 
Appendices. Prepared by IUCN Species Survival Commission Trade 
Specialist Group, TRAFFIC, and World Conservation Monitoring Center. 
Submitted to the Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties, 
Kyoto, Japan. IUCN--the World Conservation Union.
Sabater-Pi, J. 1985. Contribution to the biology of the giant frog 
(Conraua goliath, Boulenger). Amphibia-Reptilia 6:143-153.
Zahl, P.A. 1967. In quest of the world's largest frog. Natl. Geogr. 
134: 446-452.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17

    Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

    Dated: July 14, 1994.
Mollie H. Beattie,
Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 94-17545 Filed 7-15-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-M