[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 229 (Friday, November 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76017-76018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26212]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XY074]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Initiation of a 5-Year Review 
for the Arctic, Okhotsk, Baltic, and Ladoga Subspecies of the Ringed 
Seal

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

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

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces its intent to conduct a 5-year review of the 
threatened Arctic (Pusa hispida hispida), Okhotsk (Pusa hispida 
ochotensis), Baltic (Pusa hispida botnica), and endangered Ladoga (Pusa 
hispida ladogensis) subspecies of the ringed seal. NMFS is required by 
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to conduct 5-year reviews to ensure 
that listing classifications of species are accurate. The 5-year review 
must be based on the best scientific and commercial data available at 
the time of the review. We request submission of any such information 
on these ringed seal subspecies, particularly information on their 
status, threats, and recovery, that has become available since their 
listing on December 28, 2012 (77 FR 76706).

DATES: To allow us adequate time to conduct this review, we must 
receive your information no later than January 26, 2021. However, we 
will continue to accept new information about any listed species at any 
time.

ADDRESSES: Submit your information, identified by docket number NOAA-

[[Page 76018]]

NMFS-2020-0014, by either of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2020-0014, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written information to Jon Kurland, Assistant 
Regional Administrator for Protected Resources, Alaska Region NMFS, 
Attn: Records Office. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 
99802-1668.
    Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments if they are sent by 
any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after 
the comment period ends. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and NMFS will post the comments 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 is publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tammy Olson, NMFS Alaska Region, 907-
271-2373, [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 5 years. The 
regulations in 50 CFR 424.21 require that we publish a notice in the 
Federal Register announcing species currently under active review. On 
the basis of such reviews, under section 4(c)(2)(B) we determine 
whether a listed species should be delisted, or reclassified from 
endangered to threatened or from threatened to endangered (16 U.S.C. 
1533(c)(2)(B)). As described by the regulations in 50 CFR 424.11(e), 
the Secretary shall delist a species if the Secretary finds that, after 
conducting a status review based on the best scientific and commercial 
data available: (1) The species is extinct; (2) the species does not 
meet the definition of an endangered species or a threatened species; 
or (3) the listed entity does not meet the statutory definition of a 
species. Any change in Federal classification would require a separate 
rulemaking process.
    Another subspecies of ringed seal, the Saimaa seal (Phoca hispida 
saimensis), was listed as an endangered species in 1993 (58 FR 26920; 
May 6, 1993). NMFS completed a 5-year review for the Saimaa seal on 
January 11, 2018, so that subspecies is not being included in this 5-
year review.
    Background information on the ringed seal subspecies listed above 
is available on the NMFS website at: http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/ringed-seal.

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 conducting a review of the status of 
the species and after taking into account those efforts, if any, being 
made by any State or foreign nation to protect such species.

Public Solicitation of New Relevant Information

    To ensure that the 5-year review is complete and based on the best 
scientific and commercial data available, we are soliciting new 
information from the public, governmental agencies, Tribes, the 
scientific community, industry, environmental entities, and any other 
interested parties concerning the status of Arctic, Okhotsk, Baltic, 
and Ladoga ringed seals. Categories of requested information include: 
(1) 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 
important features for conservation; (3) status and trends of threats; 
(4) conservation measures that have been implemented that benefit the 
species, including monitoring data demonstrating effectiveness of such 
measures; (5) need for additional conservation measures; and (6) other 
new information, data, or corrections including, but not limited to, 
taxonomic or nomenclatural changes and improved analytical methods for 
evaluating extinction risk.

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

    Dated: November 23, 2020.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-26212 Filed 11-25-20; 8:45 am]
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