[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9489-9491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03048]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC759]


Addition of Species to the Annexes of the Protocol Concerning 
Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife in the Wider Caribbean Region

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

ACTION: Notice; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: During a meeting of the Scientific and Technical Advisory 
Committee (STAC) under the Protocol to the Cartagena Convention on 
Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW Protocol), held virtually 
on January 30-February 1, 2023, 24 animal species were nominated to be 
added to the Annexes of the SPAW Protocol. The Department of State and 
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) solicit

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comment on the nominations to add these species to the Annexes.

DATES: Comments must be received by March 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the recommendations to add the 24 
species to the Annexes of the SPAW Protocol, identified by NOAA-NMFS-
2023-0017, by the following method:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic comments via 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and 
enter NOAA-NMFS-2023-0017 in the Search box. Click on the ``Comment'' 
icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
    Instructions: 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 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. Anonymous comments will be 
accepted (enter N/A in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristen Koyama, (301) 427-8456; 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SPAW Protocol is a protocol to the 
Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment 
of the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention or Convention). 
There is also a protocol to the Convention addressing land-based 
sources of pollution and a protocol addressing regional cooperation on 
oil pollution preparedness and response. The SPAW Protocol was adopted 
in 1990 and entered into force in 2000. The United States ratified the 
SPAW Protocol in 2003. There are currently 18 countries that are 
Parties to the SPAW Protocol from throughout the Wider Caribbean 
Region.
    Participants at the January 2023 meeting of the STAC to the SPAW 
Protocol included representatives from: Barbados, Belize, Colombia, 
Dominican Republic, France, Guyana, Honduras, the Netherlands, 
Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States 
of America, and Venezuela. Representatives of several non-governmental 
organizations also attended as observers.
    The U.S. delegation included representatives from the U.S. 
Department of State and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 
and National Ocean Service. Additional information and meeting 
documents can be obtained at https://www.unep.org/cep/events/scientific-and-technical-advisory-committee-meetings-stacs/spaw-stac10.

Convention and Convention Area

    The Cartagena Convention is a regional agreement for the protection 
and development of the marine environment of the wider Caribbean. The 
Convention was adopted in 1983 and entered into force in 1986. The 
United States ratified the Convention in 1984. The Convention area 
includes the marine environment of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean 
Sea and the adjacent areas of the Atlantic Ocean south of lat. 30[deg] 
N and within 200 nautical miles (nmi) of the Atlantic coasts of the 
Parties. The United States' responsibility within this Convention area 
includes: U.S. waters off of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 
peninsular Florida, including the Atlantic coast; the waters off of a 
number of islands including coastal barrier islands and the Florida 
Keys; and the Gulf of Mexico waters under U.S. jurisdiction. The SPAW 
Protocol provides that each Party may designate related terrestrial 
areas over which they have sovereignty and jurisdiction (including 
watersheds) to be covered by the SPAW Protocol. The United States has 
not designated any terrestrial areas under the SPAW Protocol and ``does 
not intend to designate a terrestrial area under the Protocol unless 
requested to do so by an interested state or territory . . .'' (Senate 
Executive Report 107-8).

The Annexes and U.S. Obligations Under Each Annex

    The SPAW Protocol includes three Annexes. Plant species subject to 
the highest levels of protection are listed in Annex I, and animal 
species subject to the highest levels of protection are listed in Annex 
II. Plants and animals subject to some management, but lesser 
protections than those afforded to species listed in Annexes I or II, 
are listed in Annex III.
    Annexes I (flora) and II (fauna) are to include endangered and 
threatened species, or subspecies, or their populations as well as rare 
species. The SPAW Protocol describes rare species as those ``that are 
rare because they are usually localized within restricted geographical 
areas or habitats or are thinly scattered over a more extensive range 
and which are potentially or actually subject to decline and possible 
endangerment or extinction.''
    Under Article 11(1), for fauna listed in Annex II, Parties ``shall 
ensure total protection and recovery to the species . . . by 
prohibiting: (i) the taking, possession or killing (including, to the 
extent possible, the incidental taking, possession or killing) or 
commercial trade in such species, their eggs, parts or products; [and] 
(ii) to the extent possible, the disturbance of such species, 
particularly during periods of breeding, incubation, estivation or 
migration, as well as other periods of biological stress.''
    Also under Article 11(1), for Annex III species, the SPAW Protocol 
states: ``Each Party shall adopt appropriate measures to ensure the 
protection and recovery of the species of flora and fauna listed in 
Annex III and may regulate the use of such species in order to ensure 
and maintain their populations at the highest possible levels.'' 
Therefore, some regulated harvest may be permitted for species on Annex 
III. The protective provisions of this Annex are not intended to be 
more restrictive than the provisions of Annexes I and II.
    The United States ratified the SPAW Protocol, including Annexes, 
subject to certain reservations, including the following with respect 
to Article 11(1): ``The United States does not consider itself bound by 
Article 11(1) of the [SPAW] Protocol to the extent that United States 
law permits the limited taking of flora and fauna listed in Annexes I 
and II which is incidental, or for the purpose of public display, 
scientific research, photography for educational or commercial 
purposes, or rescue and rehabilitation.''
    The United States has not designated any terrestrial area under the 
SPAW Protocol. As the United States explained at the time the SPAW 
Protocol was ratified, ``The United States does not plan to designate 
terrestrial area under the Protocol since no state or territory has 
identified a need or desire to designate terrestrial area . . . .'' 
(Senate Treaty Document 103-5). In addition, ``Several terrestrial 
species, e.g. bats (Tadarida brasiliensis and Brachyphylla cavernarum) 
and falcons (Falco peregrinus), are listed in the Annexes. The listing 
of these species, however, is not intended to describe the relevant 
terrestrial scope of the Protocol. As the United States has not 
designated any terrestrial area, the Protocol obligations will not 
apply with respect to such species.'' Id.

Summary of Annexes

    Annex I contains a total of 53 plant species. All plant species on 
Annex I are either: (1) listed under the U.S.

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Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); (2) endemic to 
Florida and protected under Florida law; (3) occur only on Federal land 
and are fully protected where they occur; (4) are not native to the 
United States, and are listed in the Appendices of the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 
(CITES) where primarily commercial trade would be prohibited; or (5) 
are not native nor believed to be commercially imported into the United 
States. 56 FR 12026, 12028 (March 21, 1991). There have been no 
additions to Annex I since the adoption of the SPAW Protocol.
    Annex II currently contains 117 species and 3 groups of species, 
including all sea turtles and all marine mammals in the region. Most of 
these animal species are either: (1) listed under the ESA or the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.); (2) are not native to 
the United States and are listed in Appendix I of CITES; (3) are 
offered complete protection by domestic legislation in all range 
countries (whereby the Lacey Act, among other things, prohibits 
commercial trade in specimens taken, possessed, transported or sold in 
violation of foreign law); or (4) are endemic to foreign countries and 
are not commercially imported into the United States. The most recent 
addition to Annex II by the SPAW Parties was in June 2019.
    Annex III currently contains 43 species of plants and 42 species of 
animals in addition to species of corals, mangroves, and sea-grasses 
that occur in the region.

Composition of the Annexes

    The plant and animal species included on each Annex can be found 
here: https://www.car-spaw-rac.org/?The-SPAW-Protocol-769.

Species Nominated To Be Added to the SPAW Protocol Annexes

                                Annex II
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                  Species                            Common name
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                                 SHARKS
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Carcharhinus longimanus...................  Oceanic whitetip shark.
Rhincodon typus...........................  Whale shark.
Sphyrna lewini............................  Scalloped hammerhead shark.
Sphyrna mokarran..........................  Great hammerhead shark.
Sphyrna zygaena...........................  Smooth hammerhead shark.
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                                  RAYS
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Manta birostris...........................  Giant manta ray.
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                                REPTILES
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Iguana delicatissima......................  Lesser Antillean iguana.
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                                Annex III
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                  Species                            Common name
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                                  FISH
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Scaridae spp. (16 species)................  Parrotfish (16 species).
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                                 SHARKS
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Carcharhinus perezi.......................  Caribbean reef shark.
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Circumstances of SPAW Species Nominations

    Article 11(4) of the SPAW Protocol details the requirements for 
amending the Annexes and states, in part, that a Party may submit a 
nomination of a species for inclusion in or deletion from the Annexes; 
that the Party shall submit supporting documentation; and that the SPAW 
STAC shall review the nomination. At the January 2023 meeting, the SPAW 
STAC reviewed the species proposed by Parties for listing under the 
SPAW Protocol and made recommendations to the twelfth SPAW Conference 
of the Parties (COP12) meeting, expected to be held in April 2023. The 
STAC recommended that the oceanic whitetip shark and the Lesser 
Antillean iguana be uplisted from Annex III to Annex II, and that 
parrotfish (Scaridae spp.) and the Caribbean reef shark be added to 
Annex III. The STAC did not provide a consensus recommendation on the 
proposals to uplist the whale shark, giant manta ray, and three species 
of hammerhead sharks from Annex III to Annex II. The STAC referred 
these nominations to SPAW COP12, which will take a final decision on 
all species nominations at its meeting in April 2023.

Species Under the Jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service

    Six species nominated to be added to Annex II at the January 2023 
meeting fall under the jurisdiction of NMFS: the oceanic whitetip shark 
(Carcharhinus longimanus), giant manta ray (Manta birostris), whale 
shark (Rhincodon typus), scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini), 
great hammerhead shark (S. mokarran), and smooth hammerhead shark (S. 
zygaena). All six of these species are currently listed in Annex III of 
the SPAW Protocol. The oceanic whitetip shark, giant manta ray, and 
four distinct population segments of the scalloped hammerhead shark are 
currently listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. All species 
nominated to be added to Annex III fall under the jurisdiction of NMFS, 
including all parrotfish (Scaridae) and the Caribbean reef shark 
(Carcharhinus perezi).

Species Under the Jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

    The Lesser Antillean iguana (Iguana delicatissima), which the STAC 
recommended to be uplisted from Annex III to Annex II at the January 
2023 meeting, falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service. The Lesser Antillean iguana is a terrestrial species. 
As explained earlier in this notice, the United States has not 
designated any terrestrial area under the SPAW Protocol and the 
obligations under the SPAW Protocol do not apply in the United States 
with respect to terrestrial species. Accordingly, no obligations under 
the SPAW Protocol would apply to this species if it is added to SPAW 
Annex II.

Comments Solicited

    The Department of State and NMFS solicit comments and information 
that will inform the United States' consideration of the potential 
listing of these species in the SPAW Annexes.

    Dated: February 8, 2023.
Kimberly Damon-Randall,
Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-03048 Filed 2-13-23; 8:45 am]
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