[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 230 (Friday, November 30, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67712-67713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-23258]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE02


Endangered and Threatened Species; Initiation of a Status Review 
for Shortnose Sturgeon

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

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

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SUMMARY: We, NMFS, announce the initiation of a status review for 
shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum), and we solicit information 
on the status of, and factors and threats affecting, the species. The 
status review is intended to compile and analyze the best available 
information on the status of and threats to the species and also 
consider if shortnose sturgeon should be identified and assessed as 
Distinct Population Segments.

DATES: Written information regarding the status of, and factors and 
threats affecting, shortnose sturgeon must be received by January 29, 
2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``RIN 0648-XE02,'' by 
any one of the following methods:
     Electronic submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the

[[Page 67713]]

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: 978-281-9394, Attention: Dana Hartley.
     Mail: Information on paper, disk or CD-ROM should be 
addressed to the Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected 
Resources, NMFS Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930.
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without 
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name, 
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dana Hartley, NMFS, Northeast Regional 
Office (978) 281-9300 ext. 6514; Stephania Bolden, NMFS, Southeast 
Regional Office (727) 824-5312; or Marta Nammack, NMFS, Office of 
Protected Resources, (301) 713-1410.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    NMFS has Endangered Species Act (ESA) jurisdiction of species 
listed at 50 CFR 223.102 and 224.101. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (USFWS) adds species under NMFS jurisdiction to its official 
list (List), published at 50 CFR 17.11 (for animals) and 17.12 (for 
plants). Shortnose sturgeon was listed as an ``endangered species 
threatened with extinction'' under the Endangered Species Preservation 
Act on March 11, 1967. Shortnose sturgeon as a species remained on the 
endangered species list with the enactment of the ESA. We are 
conducting a status review to update the biological information on the 
status of the species. The status review will not only compile and 
analyze the best available information on the status of and threats to 
the species, it will also consider if shortnose sturgeon should be 
identified and assessed as Distinct Population Segments (61 FR 4722; 
February 1, 1996). Listing or reclassifying distinct vertebrate 
population segments may allow us to protect and conserve species and 
the ecosystems upon which they depend before large-scale decline 
occurs; it may also allow for more timely and less costly protection 
and recovery on a smaller scale. Any change in the List would require a 
separate rulemaking process. The regulations at 50 CFR 424.21 state 
that we will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing those 
species under active review. At this time we announce commencement of a 
status review for shortnose sturgeon, and request information regarding 
the status of, and factors and threats affecting, the species.

Request for Information

    To support this status review, we are soliciting information 
relevant to the status of, and factors and threats affecting, the 
species, including, but not limited to, information on the following 
topics: (1) river-specific historical and current abundance and 
distribution of the species throughout its range; (2) potential factors 
affecting the species' current status and past or ongoing decline 
throughout its range by river; (3) rates of capture and release of the 
species from both recreational and commercial fisheries; (4) life 
history information (size/age at maturity, growth rates, fecundity, 
reproductive rate/success, preferred prey, etc.); (5) molecular 
information to assist in determining within-species genetic structure 
and distinctiveness; (6) factors and threats affecting the species' 
status, particularly: (a) present or threatened destruction, 
modification, or curtailment of habitat or range; (b) over-utilization 
for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; (c) 
disease or predation; (d) inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; 
or (e) other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued 
existence; and (7) any ongoing conservation efforts for the species.
    If you wish to provide information for this review, see DATES and 
ADDRESSES for guidance on and deadlines for submitting information.
    If we determine that a change to the way shortnose sturgeon is 
entered on the List is appropriate, we will consider the critical 
habitat provisions of the ESA, such as Section 3 (defining critical 
habitat) and Section 4 (outlining the procedural and substantive 
considerations regarding critical habitat) and make the necessary 
determinations required by those provisions. If you would like to 
provide information regarding the physical or biological features of 
shortnose sturgeon habitat, the role they play in the conservation of 
shortnose sturgeon, and whether any natural or human-induced factors 
may negatively affect those features, we will accept it at this time. 
Please note, however, that this notice and request for information 
should not be construed as an indication that we have made any 
statutory determinations regarding shortnose sturgeon, including 
whether to change the List or whether the designation of critical 
habitat for any newly listed entity is prudent or determinable.

    Dated: November 26, 2007.
Helen Golde
Deputy Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-23258 Filed 11-29-07; 8:45 am]
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