[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 2, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60850-60851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-24049]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC901


Endangered and Threatened Species; Notice of Intent To Prepare a 
Recovery Plan for Main Hawaiian Islands Insular False Killer Whale 
Distinct Population Segment

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a recovery plan; request for 
information.

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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is announcing its 
intent to prepare a recovery plan for the Main Hawaiian Islands insular 
false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) distinct population segment 
(MHI Insular FKW) and requests information from the public. NMFS is 
required by section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), 
as amended, to develop and implement recovery plans for the 
conservation and survival of federally listed species unless the

[[Page 60851]]

Secretary finds that such a plan will not promote the conservation of 
the species.

DATES: To allow adequate time to conduct a review of information 
submitted, all information must be received no later than November 1, 
2013.

ADDRESSES: Information may be submitted by any one of the following 
methods:
     Via email: [email protected] (No files 
larger than 5MB can be accepted).
     Mail or Hand-Delivery: National Marine Fisheries Service 
Pacific Islands Regional Office, 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110, 
Honolulu, HI 96814. ATTN: Irene Kelly.
     Via fax: (808) 973-2941. Please include the following on 
the cover page of the fax ``ATTN: Irene Kelly.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Kelly, NMFS Pacific Islands 
Regional Office, (808) 944-2239.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is charged with the recovery of the MHI 
Insular FKW, listed as endangered under the Endangered species Act of 
1973 (ESA). Recovery means improvement in the status of listed species 
to the point at which the protections of the ESA are no longer 
necessary. The ESA specifies that recovery plans must include: (1) A 
description of management actions necessary to achieve the plan's goals 
for the conservation and survival of the species; (2) objective, 
measurable criteria which, when met, would result in the species being 
removed from the list; and (3) estimates of the time and costs required 
to achieve the plan's goal and the intermediate steps towards that 
goal. Section 4(f) of the ESA requires that public notice and an 
opportunity for public review and comment be provided during recovery 
plan development. We are soliciting relevant information related to the 
MHI insular FKW and their habitat, including:
    1. Criteria for removing MHI insular FKW from the list of 
threatened and endangered species;
    2. Human activities that contribute to the ESA listing factors 
(section 4(a)(1)(A)-(E)):
    (A) Present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment 
of its habitat or range;
    (B) overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or 
educational purposes;
    (C) disease or predation;
    (D) the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or
    (E) other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued 
existence.
    3. Physical, biological or chemical features of the environment 
that limit the recovery of MHI insular FKW;
    4. Strategies and/or actions to recover MHI insular FKW;
    5. Estimates of the time and cost to implement recovery actions;
    6. Critical knowledge gaps and/or uncertainties that need to be 
resolved to better inform recovery efforts; and
    7. Research, monitoring, and evaluation needs to address knowledge 
gaps and uncertainties, or to assess the species' status, limiting 
factors, and threats relative to recovery goals.
    Upon completion, the proposed Recovery Plan will be available for 
public review and comment through the publication of a Federal Register 
Notice.

Status Review Documents

    NMFS developed a status review (NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-
PIFSC-22) and an addendum to the status review (NOAA Internal Report 
NMFS-PIFSC-IR-12-038) for the MHI Insular FKW to help inform the 
recovery plan. Additional information that may help inform the recovery 
plan is the False Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan and the final rule 
to implement the Plan (77 FR 71260). The Plan and the final rule were 
developed to address the incidental mortality and serious injury of 
false killer whales in Hawaii's commercial longline fisheries. All of 
these above listed documents and information may be accessed at http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_false_killer_whale.html.

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

    Dated: September 27, 2013.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-24049 Filed 10-1-13; 8:45 am]
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