[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5396-5397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01685]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XR086]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Recovery Plans

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

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Black Abalone 
(Haliotis cracherodii) Draft Recovery Plan (Plan) for public review. 
NMFS is soliciting review and comment from the public and all 
interested parties on the Plan, and will consider all substantive 
comments received during the review period before submitting the Plan 
for final approval.

DATES: Comments and information on the draft Plan must be received by 
close of business on March 30, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document by either of the 
following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov/. 
The Docket Number is: NOAA-NMFS-2020-0016. Click the `Comment Now!'' 
icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to the National Marine 
Fisheries Service, Attn: Black Abalone Recovery Team, 501 West Ocean 
Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802.
    Instructions: You must submit comments by one of the above methods 
to ensure that we receive, document, and consider them. Comments sent 
by any other method, to any other address or individual, or received 
after the end of the comment period, may not be considered. All 
comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be 
posted for public viewing 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.
    The draft recovery plan is available online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/recovery-plan-outline-black-abalone.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: NMFS West Coast Region Protected 
Resources Division: Susan Wang at (562) 980-4199 or 
[email protected]; or Melissa Neuman at (562) 980-4115 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On January 14, 2009, we, NMFS, listed the black abalone as an 
endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (74 FR 1937). This 
determination was based on the high risk of extinction faced by black 
abalone due to low abundance, low growth and productivity, compromised 
spatial structure and population connectivity, loss of genetic 
diversity, and the continued threat of the disease called withering 
syndrome. This disease was identified as the primary threat 
contributing to the decline of black abalone. This determination was 
based on a suite of risks that black abalone face, including: (1) A 
disease called withering syndrome that caused mass mortalities of 
populations throughout a large portion of the species' range; (2) low 
adult densities below the critical threshold needed for successful 
spawning and recruitment; (3) elevated water temperatures that 
accelerate the spread of withering syndrome; (4) loss of genetic 
diversity making populations less able to adapt to environmental 
changes; and (5) illegal harvest. On October 27, 2011, we designated 
critical habitat for black abalone throughout the coast of California 
(76 FR 66806). In 2013, we convened a recovery team to assist the NMFS 
West Coast Region with developing the draft recovery plan. We completed 
a recovery outline in 2016. In 2016, we announced initiation of a five-
year review for black abalone (81 FR 93902). We completed the five-year 
review in 2018 and determined that black abalone should remain listed 
as endangered under the ESA. The five-year review is available at: 
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/endangered-species-act-5-year-status-review-black-abalone-haliotis-cracherodii.

Draft Recovery Plan

    Recovery plans describe actions beneficial to the conservation and 
recovery of species listed under the ESA of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.). Section 4(f)(1) of the ESA requires that recovery plans 
incorporate, to the maximum extent practicable: (1) A description of 
such site-specific management actions as may be 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 a 
determination that the species be removed from the list; and (3) 
estimates of the time required and the cost necessary to carry out 
those measures needed to achieve the plan's goal and to achieve 
intermediate steps toward that goal. The ESA requires the development 
of recovery plans for each listed species unless such a plan would not 
promote the conservation of the species.
    The NMFS West Coast Region developed the Plan for black abalone in 
cooperation with a recovery team made

[[Page 5397]]

up of experts from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, NMFS Northwest Fisheries 
Science Center and Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Park 
Service, Tenera Environmental, University of California at Santa Cruz, 
University of California at Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, University 
of Oregon, University of Rhode Island, University of Washington, and 
U.S. Geological Survey.
    NMFS' goal is to restore black abalone populations in the wild to 
the point where it is a self-sustaining species that no longer needs 
the protections of the ESA. The Plan gives a brief background on the 
natural history, status, and threats to black abalone. The Plan lays 
out a recovery strategy to address the threats based on the best 
available science, identifies site-specific actions with time lines and 
costs, and includes demographic and threats-based recovery criteria to 
gauge progress toward recovery. Demographic recovery criteria describe 
the characteristics of recovered, viable black abalone populations, and 
threats-based recovery criteria represent the conditions needed to 
minimize the impacts of threats and support the species' long-term 
viability.
    The Plan is not regulatory, but presents guidance for use by 
agencies and interested parties to assist in the recovery of black 
abalone. To recover black abalone, the recommended recovery actions 
within the Plan aim to restore populations in southern California and 
Baja California that have experienced significant declines; maintain 
healthy populations in Central and North-Central California; promote 
planning, coordination, and research to address threats such as 
disease, contaminant spills and spill response activities, illegal 
take, and ocean acidification; and facilitate outreach and education 
with the public and law enforcement to support recovery efforts. 
Continued long-term monitoring of black abalone populations throughout 
their range will be critical to assessing the species' status and the 
effectiveness of the recovery actions.
    We expect the Plan to inform section 7 consultations with Federal 
agencies under the ESA and to support other ESA decisions, such as 
considering research and enhancement or incidental take permits under 
section 10. NMFS and our partners have already begun implementation of 
several actions as described in the Plan. For example, many partners 
have been monitoring black abalone populations along the California 
coast for decades, since the mid-1970s at some sites. Researchers at 
the University of Washington and the University of California at Davis 
have been conducting disease research since the 1990s. In addition, the 
California Department of Fish and Wildlife coordinates with NMFS to 
address enforcement issues and spill response plans. After public 
comment and the adoption of the Final Recovery plan, we will continue 
to implement actions for which we have authority, encourage other 
Federal and state agencies to implement recovery actions for which they 
have authority, and work cooperatively with them to implement those 
actions.
    The total time and cost to recovery are difficult to predict. The 
total time to recovery will depend on several factors. Those include: 
(1) Our ability to address threats such as disease and spills, which 
are difficult to manage with much certainty; (2) the species' 
biological constraints, such as episodic recruitment events; (3) the 
effectiveness of the recommended actions to achieve the Recovery 
Criteria and any adaptations needed as we learn more through 
implementation; and (4) the availability of funding to carry out the 
recovery actions.
    We can predict that recovery will likely take decades and at a 
minimum about 20 years. To generate a minimum cost estimate, we assumed 
that annual costs for each activity would be similar to those estimated 
for the first five years of implementation. For the minimum time frame 
of 20 years, we estimate that recovery will cost approximately $16 
million.

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

    Dated: January 27, 2020.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-01685 Filed 1-29-20; 8:45 am]
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