[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 106 (Friday, June 1, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29773-29774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-13831]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 0104011088-1108-01; I.D. 030601D ]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Finding for a Petition to 
Revise Critical Habitat for Northern Right Whales

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the 
receipt of a petition to revise critical habitat for northern right 
whales, Eubalaena glacialis and NMFS' finding that the petition 
presents substantial scientific information indicating that this action 
may be warranted.

DATES: NMFS is accepting comments on the petition through August 30, 
2001.

ADDRESSES: Data, information, or comments concerning this petition 
should be submitted to Donna Wieting, Chief, Marine Mammal Division, 
Office of Protected Resources, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, 
MD, 20910. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or 
Internet. The petition finding, supporting data, and comments are 
available for public inspection at the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brad Smith, NMFS, 222 West 7th 
Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska, 99517; telephone (907) 271-5006; fax (907) 
271-3030 or Mr. Michael Payne, NMFS; telephone (907) 586-7235; fax 
(907) 586-7012.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 13, 2000, NMFS received a petition dated October 4, 
2000, from the Center for Biological Diversity, P.O. Box 40090, 
Berkeley, CA, 94704-4090. The petitioner requests that NMFS amend the 
present critical habitat designation for northern right whales by 
designating an area within the southeastern Bering Sea as critical 
habitat.
    Section 4(b)(3)(D) of the ESA, as amended (16 U.S.C. 
1533(b)(3)(D)(i)), requires that NMFS make a finding on whether a 
petition to revise a designation of critical habitat presents 
substantial scientific information to demonstrate that the petitioned 
action may be warranted. To the maximum extent practicable, this 
finding is to be made within 90 days of the receipt of the petition, 
and the finding is to be published promptly in the Federal Register. If 
the finding is that substantial scientific information is presented, 
NMFS is required to promptly begin a status review of the species. 
Within 12 months of the date the petition is received, NMFS must make a 
determination on whether the petitioned action is warranted and must 
promptly publish this determination in the Federal Register.
    This petition, based in part, on recent sightings of the North 
Pacific stock of this species in the southeastern Bering Sea, states 
that the vast majority of threats to these animals occur in this

[[Page 29774]]

area and that feeding and courtship behavior have been observed in the 
area.
    There are three distinct populations of right whales inhabiting the 
North Pacific, North Atlantic and the Southern Hemisphere. Both the 
North Atlantic and North Pacific stocks have previously been described 
as a single species, Eubalaena glacialis (the northern right whale). 
Recent genetic studies provide evidence supporting species status for 
both North Atlantic and North Pacific right whales. NMFS will be 
conducting a review to determine whether the North Pacific stock should 
be reclassified as Eubalaena japonica.
    The North Pacific stock is estimated to have once numbered at least 
11,000 animals. These whales were heavily exploited by commercial 
whaling, and remain severely depleted. No reliable population estimate 
presently exists for this stock, although it is likely fewer than 500.
    The North Pacific stock has historically occurred across the North 
Pacific, north of 35 deg. N, with concentrations in the Gulf of Alaska, 
eastern Aleutian Islands, south-central Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, and 
the Sea of Japan. Sightings of these whales have been rare and sporadic 
in recent times, although a small number of whales have been seen in 
the south-central Bering Sea each July since 1996. This petition is 
based largely on these repeated sightings, during which right whales 
were observed feeding and engaging in courtship behavior.
    Critical habitat has been designated for northern right whales in 
the Atlantic Ocean, consisting of three areas off the northeastern and 
southeastern United States. The 1991 recovery plan for northern right 
whales recommended that a separate recovery plan be prepared for the 
North Pacific stock ``when population numbers are available,'' and that 
the plan identify habitats essential or important to survival and 
recovery. No such plan exists today, and critical habitat has not been 
identified for the North Pacific stock.
    The area recommended by the petitioner for designation has been 
recognized as a region of the Bering Sea in which right whales have 
traditionally occurred. Based on commercial whaling information, 
summering grounds for right whales in the Bering Sea were principally 
located in a triangular area of the southeastern Bering Sea between 
Atka, St. Matthew, and Nunivak Island, lying largely within, and to the 
south of, the recommended critical habitat. The Bering Sea shelf is 
apparently still used as summer feeding areas for some right whales, as 
observed in 1997, when researchers collected plankton samples near 
feeding right whales in the southeastern Bering Sea, suggesting that 
these whales have shifted both their foraging ground, (from the shelf 
break and deeper waters) and their prey species.
    In recent years, the Bering Sea has experienced large changes, 
attributed in part to climatic change which has resulted in a general 
warming pattern since the mid-1970s. Unusual blooms of phytoplankton 
have been noted here, and, in 1997, a large bloom occurred in the 
southeastern Bering Sea, which was associated with concentrations of 
feeding right whales. The petitioner, however, notes that the presence 
of these whales in subsequent years, when blooms were not evident, 
suggests that these waters provide productive foraging habitat under 
normal oceanic conditions as well.
    The location of calving grounds for this stock is unknown. Breeding 
and calving of North Pacific right whales were assumed to have occurred 
during winter outside Alaskan waters. The recent observations of 
courtship behavior do not necessarily indicate that this area is used 
for breeding.

Response to Petition

    NMFS has reviewed the petition, the literature cited in the 
petition, and other literature and available information. On the basis 
of that information, NMFS finds that the petition presents substantial 
scientific information indicating that the requested action may be 
warranted. NMFS's finding is based in part on our concurrence with 
petitioner's statement that recent sightings of this stock have 
occurred in the area, that this region of the Bering Sea experiences 
intensive use by commercial shipment and fishing vessels, and that the 
1991 recovery plan for northern right whales recommended that this 
stock be protected through ``vigorous application of existing laws.''

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq.

    Dated: May 25, 2001.
John Oliver,
Acting Deputy Assistant for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 01-13831 Filed 5-31-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S