[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 44 (Thursday, March 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12905-12906]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04479]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA049]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Initiation of 5-Year Reviews 
for Eulachon, Yelloweye Rockfish, Bocaccio, and Green Sturgeon

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

ACTION: Notice of initiation of 5-year reviews; request for 
information.

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SUMMARY: We, NMFS, are announcing 5-year reviews of four species listed 
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. The four 
distinct population segments (DPSs) included in this notice are the 
southern DPS of eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus), the Puget Sound/
Georgia Basin DPSs of yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) and 
bocaccio (S. paucispinis), and the southern DPS of green sturgeon 
(Acipenser medirostris). The purpose of these reviews is to ensure the 
accuracy of the listing classifications of these threatened and 
endangered species. The 5-year reviews will be based on the best 
scientific and commercial data available at the time of the reviews; 
therefore, we are requesting that interested parties submit any new 
relevant information on these DPSs that has become available since the 
original listing determinations or since the species' status was last 
updated. Based on the results of these 5-year reviews, we will make the 
requisite determinations under the ESA.

DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct these reviews, we must 
receive your information no later than June 3, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit information document, identified by NOAA-
NMFS-2020-0022, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov. To 
submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, first click the ``submit a 
comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2020-0022 in the keyword search. 
Locate in the resulting list the document you wish to comment on and 
click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon to the right of that line.
     Mail or Hand-Delivery: Address comments to Robert Markle, 
NMFS, West Coast Region, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 1100, Portland, OR 
97232.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above 
methods to ensure that we can receive, document, and consider them. 
Comments sent by any other method, sent 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 on www.regulations.gov 
without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, 
address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information, or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information. We request that all 
information be accompanied by: (1) Supporting documentation such as 
maps, bibliographic references, or reprints of pertinent publications; 
and (2) the submitter's name, address, and any association, 
institution, or business that the person represents. We will accept 
anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to 
remain anonymous). Please note that submissions without supporting 
information--those merely stating support for or opposition to the 
action under consideration--will be noted but not used in making any 
listing determinations because such comments do not represent actual 
scientific or commercial data.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob Markle at the above address, by 
phone at (503) 230-5419, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 4(c)(2)(A) of the ESA requires that 
we conduct a review of listed species at least once every five years. 
On the basis of such reviews, we determine under section 4(c)(2)(B) 
whether a species should be delisted or reclassified from endangered to 
threatened or from threatened to endangered.

[[Page 12906]]

    We will undertake reviews for the southern DPS of eulachon, the 
Puget Sound/Georgia Basin DPSs of yelloweye rockfish and bocaccio, and 
the southern DPS of green sturgeon. Information about these four DPSs 
can be found at our West Coast regional website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/west-coast.
    Our regulations for periodic reviews at 50 CFR 424.21 require that 
we publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing those species 
currently under active review. This notice announces our active reviews 
of the DPSs listed above. Any change in listing classification would 
require a separate rulemaking process.

Determining if a Species Is Threatened or Endangered

    Section 4(a)(1) of the ESA requires that we determine whether a 
species is endangered or threatened based on one or more of the five 
following factors: (1) The present or threatened destruction, 
modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; (2) 
overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or 
educational purposes; (3) disease or predation; (4) the inadequacy of 
existing regulatory mechanisms; or (5) other natural or manmade factors 
affecting its continued existence. Section 4(b) also requires that our 
determination be made on the basis of the best scientific and 
commercial data available after taking into account those efforts, if 
any, being made by any State or foreign nation, to protect such 
species.

Application of the DPS Policy

    NMFS is responsible for determining whether species, subspecies, or 
DPSs of marine and anadromous species are threatened or endangered 
under the ESA. For these four species, NMFS applies the joint US Fish 
and Wildlife Service-NMFS DPS policy (61 FR 4722, February 7, 1996) in 
identifying the appropriate taxonomic unit for listing consideration. 
Under this policy, a DPS must be discrete from other conspecific 
populations, and it must be significant to its taxon. A group of 
organisms is discrete if it is ``markedly separated from other 
populations of the same taxon as a consequence of physical, 
physiological, ecological, and behavioral factors.'' Under the DPS 
Policy, if a population group is determined to be discrete, the agency 
must then consider whether it is significant to the taxon to which it 
belongs. Considerations in evaluating the significance of a discrete 
population include: (1) Persistence of the discrete population in an 
unusual or unique ecological setting for the taxon; (2) evidence that 
the loss of the discrete population segment would cause a significant 
gap in the taxon's range; (3) evidence that the discrete population 
segment represents the only surviving natural occurrence of a taxon 
that may be more abundant elsewhere outside its historical geographic 
range; or (4) evidence that the discrete population has marked genetic 
differences from other populations of the species.

Public Solicitation of New Information

    The 5-year reviews will consider the best scientific and commercial 
data available and new information that has become available since the 
species' previous status review. Our Northwest and Southwest Fisheries 
Science Centers will assist the West Coast Region in gathering and 
analyzing this information. To ensure that the 5-year reviews are 
complete and based on the best available information, we are soliciting 
new information from the public, concerned governmental agencies, 
Native American tribes, the scientific community, industry, 
environmental entities, and any other interested parties regarding the 
status of the southern DPS of eulachon, the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin 
DPSs of yelloweye rockfish and bocaccio, and the southern DPS of green 
sturgeon.
    Specifically, we are seeking new information (generated since 2015) 
on: (1) Population abundance; (2) population productivity; (3) changes 
in species distribution or population spatial structure; (4) genetics 
or other measures of diversity; (5) changes in habitat conditions; (6) 
conservation measures that have been implemented to benefit the 
species--including monitoring data demonstrating the effectiveness of 
such measures in addressing identified limiting factors or threats; (7) 
the status and trends of identified limiting factors or threats; and 
(8) other new information, data, or corrections including, but not 
limited to, taxonomic or nomenclatural changes, identification of 
erroneous information in the previous listing determination, and 
improved analytical methods.
    With respect to the southern DPS of eulachon, we request any new 
information concerning (1) the species' spatial distribution and 
abundance in freshwater and marine environments, (2) the species' 
genetics, (3) the effects of climate variability and how anthropogenic-
forced climate drivers affect eulachon and their freshwater and marine 
habitats, (4) the effects of ocean acidification on eulachon, (5) 
eulachon bycatch in the ocean shrimp fisheries, (6) predation on 
eulachon, and (7) the effects of dams and channel-spanning water 
control structures on estuary-plume environments.
    With respect to Puget Sound/Georgia Basin DPSs of yelloweye and 
bocaccio, we request any new information concerning (1) the species' 
spatial distribution and habitat associations among larval, young-of-
the-year, and adult fish in nearshore and deep-water environments; (2) 
the effectiveness of regulations in protecting and restoring rockfish 
habitats; (3) the species' genetics; (4) the effects of contaminants on 
species productivity, growth, and survival; (5) the effects of climate 
change and ocean acidification; on these rockfish species; (6) catch or 
bycatch of these species in specific fisheries, including information 
on the ability of anglers to properly identify rockfish by species; (7) 
the effectiveness of fisheries management with respect to reducing 
impacts on these rockfish species; (8) efforts to remove and prevent 
derelict fishing gear; (9) enumeration of bycatch by derelict fishing 
gear; and (10) the use and effectiveness of devices designed to reduce 
the effects of barotrauma in rockfish bycatch.
    With respect to the southern DPS of green sturgeon, we request any 
new information concerning (1) the species' biology--including, but not 
limited to, population trends, distribution, abundance, demographics, 
and genetics; (2) habitat conditions--including, but not limited to, 
amount, distribution, and suitability; (3) conservation measures that 
have been implemented to benefit the species; (4) status and trends of 
threats; (5) other new information, data, or improved analytical 
methods; and (6) corrections--including but not limited to, taxonomic 
or nomenclatural changes.
    If you wish to provide information for these 5-year reviews, you 
may submit your information and materials to Rob Markle (see 
ADDRESSES).

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

    Dated: February 28, 2020.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected Resources, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-04479 Filed 3-4-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P