[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 58 (Tuesday, March 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11286-11288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05685]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG892
Endangered and Threatened Species; Announcement of a Recovery
Planning Workshop and Request for Information To Inform Recovery
Planning for the Oceanic Whitetip Shark
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, are convening a workshop to solicit facts and
information from experts to inform recovery planning for the oceanic
whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus). We will not be asking for a
consensus recommendation on how to recover the oceanic whitetip shark.
This workshop will be open to the public. We also request information
that might inform the development of the recovery plan.
DATES: Workshop dates and information: The two-day recovery planning
workshop for the oceanic whitetip shark will be held Tuesday, April 23
through Wednesday April 24, 2019 at the Ohana Waikiki East Hotel,
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150 Kaiulani Ave., Honolulu, HI 96815. The workshop will begin each day
at 9 a.m. and end each day at 5:00 p.m. or as necessary to complete
business for the day.
RSVP date: If you plan to attend the workshop as an interested
member of the public, please contact Chelsey Young, NMFS, Office of
Protected Resources, [email protected], 301-427-8491 no later than
April 16, 2019.
Date for information submission: Please submit information to
inform recovery planning via the methods listed below in the ADDRESSES
section May 28, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit information to help inform the recovery plan
for the oceanic whitetip shark, by including NOAA-NMFS-2019-0024, by
either of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2019-0024. Click the ``Comment Now!'' icon,
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
Mail: Chelsey Young, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 13632,
Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments if they are sent by
any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after
the end of the comment period. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter N/A in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chelsey Young, NMFS, Office of
Protected Resources, (301) 427-8491, [email protected]; or John
Carlson, NMFS, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, (850) 624-9031,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On January 30, 2018, we published a final rule listing the oceanic
whitetip shark as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (83
FR 4153). The final listing rule describes the background of the
listing action for the species and provides a summary of our
conclusions regarding its status. For additional background and a
summary of natural history and threats to the species, the reader is
referred to the status review report and final listing rule (available
at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/oceanic-whitetip-shark).
NMFS is required by section 4(f) of the ESA to develop and
implement recovery plans for the conservation and survival of federally
listed species unless the Secretary finds that such a plan will not
promote the conservation of the species. Recovery means that listed
species and their ecosystems are restored, and their future secured, so
that the protections of the ESA are no longer necessary. The ESA
specifies that recovery plans are to include (1) a description of site-
specific 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
carry out the actions and achieve the plan's conservation goals. Under
section 4(f) of the ESA, public notice and an opportunity for public
review and comment are also provided during recovery plan development.
This notice and request for information serves as the first public
notice and opportunity for public input early in the process. Once a
recovery plan has been drafted, it will be announced in the Federal
Register and available on our website (see ADDRESSES section) for
public review and comment before being finalized.
Recovery Planning Workshop Announcement
From April 23 through 24, 2019, NMFS will hold a workshop at the
Ohana Waikiki East Hotel in Honolulu, HI to help inform our recovery
planning for the oceanic whitetip shark (see DATES section). We are
inviting experts in specific topic areas, including the species'
biology/ecology, threats to the species and the species' habitat, and
the recovery planning process itself. These experts will help us to
identify potential actions to address the threats to the species,
identify gaps in knowledge and associated research needs, as well as
begin developing recovery criteria for the species. In particular, this
workshop will focus on addressing threats related to commercial
fisheries interactions. Identified experts include representatives of
Federal and state agencies, scientific experts, individuals from
conservation partners and nongovernmental organizations, and commercial
and recreational fishermen. Information received at the workshop may be
used to inform the development of other conservation decisions and
actions, including the designation of critical habitat.
NMFS will provide a moderator to manage the workshop as well as a
note taker to document input received. We are seeking facts and
information; we will not be asking for consensus recommendations on how
to recover the oceanic whitetip shark. During the workshop, there will
also be a time-limited question and answer period during which
attendees may ask NMFS about information presented. NMFS will prepare a
summary of the workshop, noting the main points raised by the panelists
and registered speakers.
This workshop will be open to the public, and a public comment
period will be provided at the end of each day. If you plan to attend
the workshop as an interested member of the public, please contact
Chelsey Young at the address listed above by April 16, 2019, so we can
ensure sufficient space for all participants and interested parties
during our logistics planning.
Agenda
April 23 will focus on the status and threats to the
species and recovery actions related to commercial fisheries
interactions;
April 24 will focus on recovery criteria and actions
related to commercial fisheries interactions, research to fill in data
gaps, and other needs.
Request for Information
We also invite the public to submit scientific or commercial
information that may help to inform the recovery criteria and actions
for the oceanic whitetip shark. We are soliciting relevant information
related to the species and its habitat, including the following:
1. Criteria for removing the oceanic whitetip shark from the list
of threatened and endangered species (this could be either threats-
based or abundance/trends based);
2. Human activities that contribute to threats to the species;
3. Physical, biological or chemical features of the environment
that limit the recovery of the oceanic whitetip shark;
4. Recovery strategies addressing threats to physical and
biological features that are essential to species conservation;
5. Strategies and/or actions to recover the oceanic whitetip shark;
6. Estimates of the time and cost, and potential partners to
implement recovery actions;
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7. Critical knowledge gaps and/or uncertainties that need to be
resolved to better inform recovery efforts; and
8. 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.
Information may be submitted via the methods listed above in the
ADDRESSES section.
The workshop is accessible to persons with disabilities. Send
requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids at
least five business days in advance to Chelsey Young at (301) 427-8491.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.
Dated: March 20, 2019.
Donna S. Wieting,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-05685 Filed 3-25-19; 8:45 am]
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