[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 246 (Friday, December 20, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67293-67294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-32533]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 23


Species Being Considered for Amendments to the Appendices to the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna 
and Flora; Supplemental Request for Information

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of 
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates international trade in certain 
animal and plant species, which are included in the appendices of this 
treaty. The United States, as a Party to CITES, implements treaty 
requirements for species included in the appendices and periodically 
proposes amendments to the appendices as warranted for consideration by 
the other Parties at biennial meetings of the Conference of the 
Parties.
    This notice invites comments and information from the public 
relevant to (1) a proposed change in the United States interpretation 
of the CITES listing of the urila sheep, Ovis vignei, based on a recent 
decision of the CITES Nomenclature Committee; and (2) potential United 
States co-sponsorship of a proposal for the Tenth Conference of the 
Parties (COP10) to include all species of sturgeons (Acipenseriformes) 
not presently included in the appendices in Appendix II.

DATES: The Service will consider all comments received by January 5, 
1997.

ADDRESSES: Please send correspondence concerning this notice to Chief, 
Office of Scientific Authority; 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 750; 
Arlington, Virginia 22203. Fax number 703-358-2276. 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 above 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Marshall A. Howe, Office of 
Scientific Authority, at the above address, telephone 703-358-1708.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CITES regulates import, export, re-export, 
and introduction from the sea of certain animal and plant species. 
Species for which trade is controlled are included in one of three 
appendices. Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction that 
are or may be affected by international trade. Appendix II includes 
species that, although not necessarily now threatened with extinction, 
may become so unless the trade is strictly controlled. It also lists 
species that must be subject to regulation in order that trade in other 
currently or potentially threatened species may be brought under 
effective control (e.g., because of difficulty in distinguishing 
specimens of currently or potentially threatened species from those of 
other species). Appendix III includes species that any Party country 
identifies as being subject to regulation within its jurisdiction for 
purposes of preventing or restricting exploitation, and for which it 
needs the cooperation of other Parties to control trade.
    In a March 1, 1996, Federal Register notice (61 FR 8019), the 
Service requested public recommendations or draft proposals to amend 
Appendix I or II that the Service might consider proposing on behalf of 
the United States at COP10. That notice described information 
requirements for proposals, based on new listing criteria adopted by 
the Parties at COP9. After receiving and considering recommendations 
and proposals received in response to that notice, the Service 
announced, in an August 28, 1996, Federal Register notice (61 FR 
44324), its preliminary decisions on which recommendations and 
proposals it was still considering and requested addtional information 
on those. The deadline for submission of proposals to the CITES 
Secretariat for consideration at COP10 is January 10, 1997.

Reinterpretation of the Listing of the Urial, Ovis vignei

    The urial of the central Asian steppes, a species of sheep popular 
among sport trophy hunters, has been included in CITES Appendix I since 
1975. Due to uncertainty about the taxonomic relationships among 
populations of this and related sheep species, there has been confusion 
among the Parties as to the precise taxonomic entity intended for 
protection by the original listing. The history of this situation is 
described in detail in a January 27, 1994, Federal Register notice (59 
FR 3833). In conducting its own analysis, the Service earlier concluded 
that the original listing applied only to certain populations (= O. v. 
vignei) in India and Pakistan and that other populations were not 
included in the appendices. Import of urials into the United States has 
been guided by this interpretation of the CITES listing.
    A working group of the CITES Animals and Nomenclature Committees, 
in consultation with the IUCN Caprinae Specialist Group, studied this 
problem and attempted a fresh assessment of the status of Ovis vignei 
populations (based on the taxon described in the nomenclatural 
reference for mammals now adopted by the Parties: ``Mammal Species of 
the World,'' Second Edition, by Wilson and Reeder). On the basis of 
this assessment, Germany prepared a draft Appendix I listing proposal, 
which recommended that an Appendix I listing was appropriate for all 
populations of the species. The Service participated in the working 
group and, at the time of the August 28 Federal Register notice, was 
considering the possibility of cosponsoring the proposal prepared by 
Germany and solicited information from the public accordingly.
    At the meeting of the CITES Animals Committee in Prague, Czech 
Republic, in September, 1996, a meeting of the CITES Nomenclature 
Committee considered the Ovis vignei issue. The Nomenclature Committee 
concluded that the precise taxonomic entity intended for protection by 
the original listing could not be determined with certainty. It was, 
therefore, recommended that the current listing be interpreted as being 
based upon the CITES-adopted taxonomic reference mentioned above, 
resulting in the entire species being included in Appendix I. The 
Animals Committee endorsed this interpretation. In light of this 
recommendation, the draft proposal for listing in Appendix I became 
redundant and Germany decided not to submit the proposal.

[[Page 67294]]

    The Service believes the United States should accept this 
recommendation of the CITES Nomenclature and Animals Committees and 
proposes a corresponding change in its interpretation of the listing of 
Ovis vignei in 50 CFR Part 23. This interpretation would become 
effective 90 days after the conclusion of COP10, if the Parties adopt 
the report of the Nomenclature Committee. Public comment on this 
recommended position is solicited. Under the new interpretation, all 
urial specimens would be considered to be on Appendix I, and imports 
would be subject to the normal permitting requirements applicable to 
species included in Appendix I.

Inclusion of Sturgeons in Appendix II

    Sturgeons (order Acipenseriformes) are a primitive group of 
approximately 25 species of fish, whose biological attributes make them 
vulnerable to intensive fishing pressure or other causes of elevated 
adult mortality. Many species of sturgeons, the primary source of 
commercial caviar, have experienced severe population declines 
worldwide because of both habitat destruction and overharvest for 
international trade. Some are at serious risk of extinction. Two 
species in the United States (the shortnosed sturgeon, Acipenser 
brevirostrum, and pallid sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus albus) are listed as 
endangered under the Endangered Species Act, while a third species (the 
Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrhynchus desotoi) is listed as threatened. 
CITES presently includes two species in Appendix I and one in Appendix 
II. The closely related American paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, has 
also been included in Appendix II since 1992.
    Recently attention has been focussed on conservation problems in 
the Caspian Sea, which is the source of more than 90 of the world 
caviar trade and which produces the highest quality caviar. Since the 
mid-1970's very marked declines in the populations of all six of the 
Caspian Sea's sturgeon species have been noted, especially populations 
of the most heavily exploited species: Beluga (Huso huso), Russian 
(Acipenser gueldenstaedti), and stellate (A. stellatus) sturgeons. Five 
of the six species are considered endangered by the ``1996 IUCN Red 
List of Threatened Animals.'' The problem has become exacerbated in 
recent years due to deteriorating fishery management and enforcement 
capabilities in the region, resulting in harvests that far exceed 
recommended quotas.
    The Scientific Authority of Germany has prepared a detailed draft 
proposal to include all species of sturgeons not presently included in 
the appendices in Appendix II. This draft proposal was discussed in 
November in Moscow at a meeting involving the Russian Federation and 
several former Soviet Republics, including several that participate in 
the Caspian Sea sturgeon fishery: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and 
Turkmenistan. The meeting, hosted by the Russian Federation State 
Committee for Environmental Protection and the German Scientific and 
Management Authorities yielded an overwhelming acknowledgment of the 
severity of the threat to sturgeon populations in the Caspian Sea. The 
existence of a substantial illegal trade in caviar (estimated to 
constitute up to 80 percent of the trade) that has resulted in a 
decrease in both the quality and price of caviar in international 
markets also was recognized.
    The probable outcome of this meeting will be a joint proposal from 
Germany and the Russian Federation to list all species of sturgeons, 
except those already included in Appendix I, in Appendix II. Such a 
listing will enable: (1) The implementation of management controls 
necessary to stabilize sturgeon populations in the Caspian Sea and 
elsewhere in the world; and (2) better regulation of the trade by 
importing countries, especially through an improved capability for 
distinguishing legal from illegal caviar. The Service believes that the 
United States, as a range state for some of the most endangered 
sturgeon populations and as a major importer of caviar products 
(between 50 and 60 metric tons per year from 1992 through 1995), should 
consider co-sponsoring this proposal if Germany and Russia decide to 
advance it. The Service solicits public comment on this potential 
action.

Future Actions

    The Service will consider all comments received in writing during 
the comment period in deciding whether the actions considered above are 
appropriate. Proposals to amend the appendices must be submitted to the 
CITES Secretariat by January 10, 1997, for consideration at COP10 in 
Harare, Zimbabwe, June 1997. In February 1997, the Service will publish 
a Federal Register notice announcing decisions on this and other 
proposals being considered for amending the appendices under 
consideration.
    The primary authors of this notice are Dr. Marshall A. Howe, Office 
of Scientific Authority and Dr. Rosemarie Gnam, Office of Management 
Authority, under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 
16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.

    Dated: December 18, 1996.
Marshall P. Jones, Jr.,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 96-32533 Filed 12-19-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P