[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 110 (Friday, June 7, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39328-39329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-14363]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 223 and 224

[I.D. 053102A]


Listing Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants and 
Designating Critical Habitat; Public Scoping Meetings on a Petition to 
List Atlantic White Marlin (Tetrapturus albidus)

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

ACTION: Notice of scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: NMFS will hold 11 public scoping meetings to receive data and 
comments regarding the status of the Atlantic white marlin.

DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for meeting dates.

ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for meeting addresses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Bernhart, 727-570-5312; or David 
O'Brien, 301-713-1401;

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is conducting a status review of 
Atlantic white marlin to determine whether this species should be 
provided protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). 
Status reviews are required by section 4(b)(3)(A) of the ESA, whenever 
a listing petition for a species is found to present substantial 
information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. On 
September 4, 2001, NMFS received a petition from the Biodiversity Legal 
Foundation (BLF) and James R. Chambers to list Atlantic white marlin as 
threatened or endangered throughout its known range, and to designate 
critical habitat under the ESA. On December 20, 2001, NMFS found that 
the petition presented substantial information indicating that the 
petitioned action may be warranted and announced initiation of a status 
review (66 FR 65676). NMFS also solicited information and comments on 
whether the Atlantic white marlin is endangered or threatened based on 
the ESA listing criteria, during a 60-day comment period.
    NMFS' status review for white marlin is currently underway. Within 
1 year of the receipt of the petition (by September 3, 2002), a finding 
will be made as to whether listing the Atlantic population of the white 
marlin as threatened or endangered is warranted, as required by section 
4(b)(3)(B) of the ESA. Under section 4(a)(1) of the ESA, a species can 
be determined to be threatened or endangered for any one of the 
following reasons: (1) Present or threatened destruction, modification, 
or curtailment of habitat or range; (2) over-utilization for 
commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; (3) 
disease or predation; (4) inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; 
or (5) other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued 
existence. If listing is found to be warranted for the white marlin, 
NMFS would publish a proposed rule and take public comment before 
taking any final action on listing.
    To maximize public involvement in the status review and to ensure 
that NMFS receives the best available commercial and scientific data 
for its listing determination, NMFS will hold 11 public scoping 
meetings to receive additional data and comments on the status of 
Atlantic white marlin and the

[[Page 39329]]

applicability of the ESA's listing factors to Atlantic white marlin.

Meeting Dates, Times, and Locations

    The public scoping meeting schedule is as follows:
    Tuesday, June 11, 2002, Silver Spring, MD, 7-9 p.m.--Hilton Silver 
Spring, 8727 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910; 301-589-5200
    Monday, June 17, 2002, Miami, FL, 7-9 p.m.--Sheraton Biscayne Bay 
Hotel, 495 Brickell Avenue, Miami, FL 33131; 305-373-6000
    Tuesday, June 18, 2002, Kenner, LA, 7-9 p.m.--Hilton New Orleans 
Airport, 901 Airline Highway, Kenner, LA 70062; 504-469-5000
    Wednesday, June 19, 2002, Panama City Beach, FL, 7-9 p.m.--Marriott 
Bay Point Resort Village, 4200 Marriott Drive, Panama City Beach, FL 
32408; 850-236-6000
    Thursday, June 20, 2002, Orange Beach, AL, 7-9 p.m.--Perdido Beach 
Resort, 27200 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, AL 36561; 251-981-9811
    Monday, June 24, 2002, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI, 7-9 
p.m.--Island Beach Comber Hotel, Lindbergh Beach Road, Charlotte 
Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI 00802; 340-774-5250
    Monday, June 24, 2002, Atlantic Beach, NC, 7:30-9:30 p.m.--Sheraton 
Atlantic Beach Oceanfront Hotel, 2717 West Fort Macon Road, Atlantic 
Beach, NC 28512; 252-240-1155
    Tuesday, June 25, 2002, Manteo, NC, 7:30-9:30 p.m.--North Carolina 
Aquarium Roanoke Island, 374 Airport Road, Manteo, NC 27954; 252-473-
3496
    Thursday, June 27, 2002, Atlantic City, NJ, 7-9 p.m.--Atlantic City 
Center, 1535 Bacharach Blvd., Atlantic City, NJ 08401; 609-343-4801
    Thursday, June 27, 2002, Fairhaven, MA, 7-9 p.m.--The Harborfront 
Center, 110 Middle Street, Fairhaven, MA 02719; 508- 997-1281
    Friday, June 28, 2002, Berlin, MD, 7- 9 p.m.--Ocean Pines Library, 
11107 Cathell Road, Berlin, MD 21811; 410- 208- 4014

Special Accommodations

    These public hearings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to David Bernhart (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT).

    Dated: June 3, 2002.
David Cottingham,
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-14363 Filed 6-6-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S