[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 5, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54944-54945]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21661]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XB487]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Announcement of Workshop To 
Inform Recovery Planning for ESA Listed Rice's Whale (Balaenoptera 
Ricei)

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We, NMFS, are convening a workshop to solicit information from 
experts to inform recovery planning for Rice's whale (Balaenoptera 
ricei) under section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This 
workshop will be open to the public.

DATES: Workshop dates and information: We will hold the recovery 
planning workshop for the Rice's whale virtually over the course of 5 
sessions in October and November 2021.

 Monday, October 18, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings 
Time (EDT)
 Monday, November 1, 12 p.m.-4 p.m. EDT
 Wednesday, November 10, 12 p.m.-4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time 
(EST)
 Tuesday, November 16, 12 p.m.-4 p.m. EST
 Thursday, November 18, 12 p.m.-4 p.m. EST

[[Page 54945]]


ADDRESSES: If you plan to attend the workshop as an interested member 
of the public, please register for each session that you would like to 
observe:

 Session 1: ttps://bit.ly/RIWH-Wkshp1-Oct18-RSVP
 Session 2: https://bit.ly/RIWH-Wkshp2-Nov1-RSVP
 Session 3: https://bit.ly/RIWH-Wkshp3-Nov10-RSVP
 Session 4: https://bit.ly/RIWH-Wkshp4-Nov16-RSVP
 Session 5: https://bit.ly/RIWH-Wkshp5-Nov18-RSVP

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barb Zoodsma, (727) 824-5312, NMFS 
Southeast Regional Office (SERO), Protected Resources Division, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On April 15, 2019, we published a final rule listing the Gulf of 
Mexico Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni; a subspecies of Bryde's 
whales) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (84 FR 
15446). In 2021, a published study in a peer-reviewed journal (Rosel et 
al., 2021) provided evidence for and described the individuals referred 
to as the Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whales as an entirely new species (not 
just subspecies) of baleen whale. The new species is described as the 
Rice's whale (Balaenoptera ricei). Consequently, on August 23, 2021, we 
published a direct final rule to update the taxonomic classification, 
description, and common name of species included in the list of 
endangered species maintained at 50 CFR 224.101 to reflect the updated 
science (86 FR 47022). The direct final rule changes the common name of 
the listed entity from Bryde's whale (Gulf of Mexico subspecies) to 
Rice's whale, the scientific name from B. edeni (unnamed subspecies) to 
B. ricei, and the description of the listed entity from Bryde's whales 
that breed and feed in the Gulf of Mexico to the entire species. The 
direct final rule and these changes will be effective on October 22, 
2021. The direct final rule ensures that the list of endangered species 
reflects the best available scientific information. Although the 
changes to the enumeration of listed species are not yet effective, we 
are referring to the species using the updated scientific 
understanding. Therefore, this rule will refer to the individuals as 
Rice's whale or B. ricei, as appropriate. The species' status and legal 
protections under the ESA remain the same despite the forthcoming 
changes.
    The final listing rule (84 FR 15446; April 15, 2019) describes the 
background of the listing action for this species and provides a 
summary of our conclusions regarding its status. For additional 
background and information about this species, the reader is referred 
to the status review report, final listing rule, and our species web 
pages (available at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/rices-whale).
    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 
the status of a listed species has improved to the point at which 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 goal 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 needed to achieve the plan's conservation and 
survival goal and to achieve intermediate steps toward that goal. Under 
section 4(f) of the ESA, public notice and an opportunity for public 
review and comment also are provided during recovery plan development.
    This notice serves as a public notice and opportunity for public 
attendance in the recovery workshop. Once a recovery plan has been 
drafted, it will be announced in the Federal Register and available on 
our website for public review and comment before being finalized.

Recovery Planning Workshop Announcement

    NMFS will hold a virtual workshop in five sessions to help inform 
our recovery planning for Rice's whale. The first session will be held 
on Monday, October 18, 2021, and the last session will be held 
Thursday, November 18, 2021 (see DATES section). We invited experts and 
stakeholders in specific topic areas, including the species' biology 
and ecology, threats to the species and the species' habitat, the 
recovery planning process itself, and cetacean conservation and 
management. These experts and stakeholders will help us 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. Identified experts and stakeholders 
include representatives of Federal and State agencies, scientific 
experts, individuals from industry, and individuals from conservation 
partners and nongovernmental organizations.
    NMFS has contracted a facilitator to manage the workshop as well as 
note takers to document input received. We are seeking information; we 
will not be asking for consensus recommendations on how to recover the 
Rice's whale species. A summary of the workshop will be prepared, 
noting the main points raised by the participants.
    This workshop will be open to the public, and a public comment 
period will be provided at the end of each session. If you plan to 
attend the workshop as an interested member of the public, please 
register via the website addresses listed in the ADDRESSES section, so 
we can ensure sufficient online connectivity for participants and 
interested parties during our logistics planning.

Schedule of Workshops

 Session 1: Workshop Series Kick-Off--October 18--Session 1 
will focus on general background and orientation to Rice's whale 
recovery process
 Session 2: Entanglement, Prey, and Climate Change--November 
1--Session 2 will focus on entanglement, prey, and climate change
 Session 3: Marine Debris and Environmental Pollutants--
November 10--Session 3 will focus on marine debris and environmental 
pollutants (oil spills, contaminants and disease)
 Session 4: Anthropogenic Noise and Acoustic Habitat, Vessel 
Strikes, Marine Structures--November 16--Session 4 will focus on 
anthropogenic noise and acoustic habitat, vessel strikes, and marine 
structures (offshore renewable energy, sediment diversion and 
aquaculture)
 Session 5: Recovery Criteria Discussion--November 18--Session 
5 will focus on bringing workshop takeaways together and deeper dive 
into recovery criteria

    Workshops are accessible to persons with disabilities. Send 
requests for auxiliary aids at least five business days in advance of 
the start date of the session to Barb Zoodsma at [email protected].
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.

    Dated: September 30, 2021.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-21661 Filed 10-4-21; 8:45 am]
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