[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33466-33468]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-15863]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 061699A]
Endangered and Threatened Species; Revision of Candidate Species
List Under the Endangered Species Act
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of modification of list of candidate species.
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SUMMARY: NMFS identifies marine and anadromous species as candidates
for possible addition to the List of Endangered and Threatened Species.
NMFS is soliciting information concerning the status of these species.
This notice is not a proposal for listing, and the involved species do
not receive substantive or procedural protection under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (ESA). The candidate species list serves to notify
the public that NMFS has concerns regarding these species/vertebrate
populations that may warrant listing in the future, and it facilitates
voluntary conservation efforts. NMFS encourages Federal agencies and
other appropriate parties to take these species into account in project
planning.
DATES: This updated list is effective on June 23, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Reliable documentation for these additions to the candidate
species list should be sent to the Chief of Endangered Species, NMFS,
Office of Protected Resources, 1315 East-West Highway, F/PR3, Silver
Spring, MD 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marta Nammack or Terri Jordan at
(301)713-1401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ESA requires determinations of whether
species of wildlife and plants are endangered or threatened, based on
the best available scientific and commercial data. ``Species'' includes
any species or subspecies of fish, wildlife, or plant, and any distinct
population segment of any vertebrate species that interbreeds when
mature (vertebrate population). NMFS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service share responsibilities under the ESA. With some exceptions,
NMFS is responsible for species that reside all or the major portion of
their lifetimes in marine or estuarine waters. The regulations
implementing Section 4 of the ESA (49 FR 38900, October 1, 1984) define
``candidate'' as ``any species being considered by the Secretary for
listing as an endangered or a threatened species, but not yet the
subject of a proposed rule.'' As resources permit, NMFS conducts a
review of the status of each candidate species to determine if it
warrants listing as endangered or threatened under the ESA.
Species/vertebrate populations may be added to the candidate
species list based on consideration of their biological status.
Biological status is determined by both demography and genetic
composition of the species/vertebrate population. If there is evidence
of demographic or genetic concerns that would indicate that listing may
be warranted, the species/vertebrate population should be added to the
candidate species list.
Demographic concerns would occur when there is a significant
decline in abundance or range from historical levels that would
indicate that listing may be warranted. This could result from
overharvest, habitat degradation, disease outbreaks, predation, natural
climatic conditions, and hatchery practices that lead to competition
with natural stocks or depletion of natural fish for use as hatchery
broodstock.
Genetic concerns that would indicate that listing may be warranted
include outbreeding and inbreeding depression resulting from poor
hatchery practices or substantially reduced numbers of natural
individuals.
On July 14, 1997, NMFS revised its candidate species list (62 FR
37561). On January 15, 1999, NMFS published notification soliciting
comments and reliable documentation on species it was considering to
add to the candidate species list (64 FR 2629). NMFS considered all
comments received and all available information in updating the
candidate species list.
This document adds 14 new species to the list of candidate species
for which reliable information is available to NMFS meeting the
previously stated criteria (Table 1). As resources permit, NMFS intends
to conduct status reviews on candidate species, collect further
documentation on them, and make appropriate amendments to the
accompanying table during the next revision.
In addition to these new species, changes to the candidate status
of Pacific salmon as a result of status reviews have been noted in
Table 1 to this document. In some cases, even when NMFS determines that
listing a species under the ESA is not warranted, it may add the
species to the candidate species list because some concerns about its
status still remain. Chum, sockeye, and chinook salmon are no longer
candidate species, though the Hood Canal summer-run and Columbia River
chum salmon evolutionarily significant units (ESU), the Ozette Lake
sockeye salmon ESU, and the Upper Columbia River spring-run, Puget
Sound, Lower Columbia River, and Upper Willamette River chinook salmon
ESUs were listed as threatened or endangered (64 FR 14308, March 24,
1999; 64 FR 14508, March 25, 1999; 64 FR 14517, March 25, 1999; 64 FR
14528, March 25, 1999). NMFS designated three more steelhead ESUs
(Northern California, Klamath Mountains Province, and Oregon Coast) as
candidate species (63 FR 13347, March 19, 1998) and listed the former
candidate species, Middle Columbia River steelhead ESU, and the Upper
Willamette River steelhead ESU, as threatened (64 FR 14517; March 25,
1999). NMFS also listed the former candidate species, Oregon Coast coho
salmon ESU, as threatened in August 1998 (63 FR 42587; August 10,
1998), leaving only two coho salmon ESUs on
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the candidate species list. After conducting a coastwide status review
of sea-run cutthroat, NMFS proposed to list the Southwestern
Washington/Columbia River ESU as threatened and designated the Oregon
Coastal sea-run cutthroat trout ESU as a candidate species (64 FR
16397; April 5, 1999).
In addition, though NMFS determined that the Gulf of Maine
population of harbor porpoise's status did not warrant listing under
the ESA, the population has been added to the candidate species list
because concerns on its status still remain.
It is important to note that the candidate species list is limited
by the information available. Therefore, it does not encompass all
declining marine and anadromous species that may warrant listing in the
future. Moreover, inclusion of a species on the candidate list does not
create a higher listing priority for that species. As appropriate, NMFS
may initiate a status review for any species or vertebrate population
of concern, regardless of whether it is a candidate species, and the
public may petition to list any species or vertebrate population.
Inclusion in the candidate species list is intended to stimulate
voluntary conservation efforts, which, if effective, can result in a
lower likelihood of an ESA listing.
In Table 1, Revised list of candidate species, the common name
appears as the first entry followed by the scientific name, the family
name, and the area of concern. This area denotes the general geographic
boundaries of the species or the vertebrate population for which
concern has been expressed. Ongoing or future biological status reviews
may narrow the geographic area or population of concern in the future.
Dated: June 15, 1999.
Hilda Diaz-Soltero,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
Table 1 - Revised list of candidate species
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Common Name Scientific Name Family Area of Concern 3
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Marine Mammals
beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas Monodontidae AK (Cook Inlet population).
harbor porpoise Phocoena phocoena Phocoenidae ME - NC (Gulf of Maine population).
Fishes
dusky shark Carcharhinus obscurus Carcharhinidae Atlantic; Gulf of Mexico; Pacific.
sand tiger shark Odontaspis taurus Odontaspididae Atlantic; Gulf of Mexico.
night shark Carcharinus signatus Carcharhinidae Atlantic; Gulf of Mexico.
smalltooth sawfish* Pristis pectinata Pristidae Atlantic; NC to Gulf of Mexico.
largetooth sawfish* Pristis pristis Pristidae Atlantic; TX, FL.
barndoor skate* Raja laevis Rajidae Atlantic; Cape Hatteras, NC to
Newfoundland, Canada.
Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrhynchus Acipenseridae Atlantic, anadromous.
oxyrhynchus
Pacific herring* Clupea pallasi Clupeidae Puget Sound.
Alabama shad Alosa alabamae Clupeidae AL, FL, anadromous.
searun cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki clarki Salmonidae Pacific, anadromous. Oregon Coastal ESU.
coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch Salmonidae Pacific, anadromous. Puget Sound/Strait
of Georgia and Southwest WA/Lower
Columbia River ESUs1
steelhead trout Oncorhynchus mykiss Salmonidae Pacific, anadromous. Northern CA, Klamath
Mountains Province, and OR Coast ESUs.
Atlantic salmon Salmo salar Salmonidae Atlantic, anadromous. Gulf of Maine DPS2
Pacific cod* Gadus macrocephalus Gadidae Puget Sound.
Pacific hake* Merluccius productus Gadidae Puget Sound.
walleye pollock* Theragra chalcogramma Gadidae Puget Sound.
mangrove rivulus Rivulus marmoratus Aplocheilidae FL, estuarine.
saltmarsh topminnow Fundulus jenkinsi Cyprinodontidae TX, LA, MS, AL, FL.
Key silverside Menidia conchorum Atherinidae Florida Keys.
opposum pipefish Microphis brachyurus lineatus Syngnathidae Florida, Indian River Lagoon.
brown rockfish* Sebastes auriculatus Scorpaenidae Puget Sound.
copper rockfish* Sebastes caurinus Scorpaenidae Puget Sound.
quillback rockfish* Sebastes maliger Scorpaenidae Puget Sound.
bocaccio* Sebastes paucispinis Scorpaenidae Pacific, CA to OR.
speckled hind Epinephelus drummondhayi Serranidae NC to Gulf of Mexico.
jewfish ephinephelus itijara Serranidae NC southward to Gulf of Mexico.
warsaw grouper Epinephelus nigritus Serranidae MA southward to Gulf of Mexico.
Nassau grouper Epinephelus striatus Serranidae NC southward to Gulf of Mexico.
Mollusks
white abalone Haliotes sorenseni Haliotidae CA, Baja CA.
black abalone* Haliotis cracherodii Haliotidae OR, CA, Baja CA.
Anthozoans (Corals)
elkhorn coral* Acropora palmata Acroporidae western Atlantic; Caribbean.
staghorn coral* Acropora cervicornis Acroporidae western Atlantic; Caribbean.
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*addition to list
\1\ ESU = evolutionarily significant unit. Pacific salmon populations can only be listed under the ESA if they are ``evolutionarily significant'', per
NMFS policy (56 FR 58612).
\2\ DPS = distinct population segment
\3\ Defines the general geographic area or populations of concern for the species.
[[Page 33468]]
[FR Doc. 99-15863 Filed 6-22-99; 8:45 am]
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