Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Request for Information for the Issuance of Protective Regulations Under Section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act for the Conservation of Threatened Corals, 1616-1618 [2015-00366]
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 8 / Tuesday, January 13, 2015 / Proposed Rules
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Radio, Radio broadcasting.
Federal Communications Commission.
Nazifa Sawez,
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For the reasons discussed in the
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PART 73—RADIO BROADCAST
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asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
■
[FR Doc. 2015–00341 Filed 1–12–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 223
[Docket No. 0911231415–4999–04]
RIN 0648–XT12
Advanced Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking and Request for
Information for the Issuance of
Protective Regulations Under Section
4(d) of the Endangered Species Act for
the Conservation of Threatened Corals
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Advanced notice of proposed
rulemaking; request for information.
AGENCY:
We, the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), are
considering proposing protective
regulations to provide for the
conservation of the 20 coral species
recently listed as threatened under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). Fifteen
of the listed species occur in the IndoPacific and five occur in the Caribbean.
This advanced notice of proposed
rulemaking (ANPR) is intended to alert
other agencies and the public of our
planning efforts and request public
input that will assist in identifying
actions and activities that may impact
the status of these corals, as well as
information on the existence and
efficacy of on-going conservation
activities. This information will help
inform our evaluation of what, if any,
protective regulations are necessary and
advisable for the conservation of these
species.
DATES: Responses to this request for
information must be received by March
16, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
information, or data on this document,
identified by NOAA–NMFS–2014–0158,
by any of the following methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal
www.regulations.gov. Go to
www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20140158. Click the ‘‘Comment Now’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
• Mail:
Æ To submit written comments
regarding the species listed in Table 1
below, contact the Pacific Islands
Region: Lance Smith, Protected
Resources Division, National Marine
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00027
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands
Regional Office, NOAA Inouye Regional
Center, 1845 Wasp Blvd., Building 176,
Honolulu, HI 96818.
Æ To submit written comments
regarding the species listed in Table 2
below, contact the Southeast Region:
Stephania Bolden, Protected Resources
Division, National Marine Fisheries
Service, Southeast Regional Office, 263
13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg,
FL 33701.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lance Smith, NMFS, Pacific Islands
Regional Office, 808–725–5131;
Kimberly Maison, NMFS, Pacific Islands
Regional Office, 808–725–5143;
Stephania Bolden, NMFS, Southeast
Regional Office, 727–824–5312; or
Marta Nammack, NMFS Office of
Protected Resources, 301–427–8469.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On September 10, 2014, we published
a final rule listing 20 species of coral as
threatened under the ESA (79 FR
53851). The 15 Indo-Pacific species
include Acropora globiceps, Acropora
jacquelineae, Acropora lokani,
Acropora pharaonis, Acropora retusa,
Acropora rudis, Acropora speciosa,
Acropora tenella, Anacropora spinosa,
Isopora crateriformis, Euphyllia
paradivisa, Montipora australiensis,
Porites napopora, Pavona diffluens, and
Seriatopora aculeata. The five
Caribbean species include Dendrogyra
cylindrus, Orbicella annularis, Orbicella
faveolata, Orbicella franksi, and
Mycetophyllia ferox. The final listing
rule describes the background of the
listing actions for these 20 corals and
provides a summary of our conclusions
regarding the statuses of the listed
corals. For additional background and a
summary of natural history and threats
to the species, the reader is referred to
the Status Review Report, Supplemental
Information Report, and Final Listing
Rule (all three are available at https://
www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_
coral.html). At the time of listing we did
not propose any protective regulations
pursuant to section 4(d) of the ESA.
ESA section 9(a)(1) prohibitions are
automatically applied to species listed
as endangered but not to species listed
as threatened. Section 4(d) of the ESA
provides that, whenever a species is
listed as threatened, the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary) shall issue such
regulations as she deems necessary and
advisable to provide for the
conservation of the species. Such
regulations may include any or all of the
prohibitions in ESA section 9(a)(1) that
apply automatically to species listed as
E:\FR\FM\13JAP1.SGM
13JAP1
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 8 / Tuesday, January 13, 2015 / Proposed Rules
endangered. Those section 9(a)(1)
prohibitions make it unlawful, with
limited specified exceptions, for any
person subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States to: ‘‘(A) Import any such
species into, or export any such species
from the United States; (B) take any
such species within the United States or
the territorial sea of the United States;
(C) take any such species upon the high
seas; (D) possess, sell, deliver, carry,
transport, or ship, by any means
whatsoever, any such species taken in
violation of subparagraphs (B) and (C);
(E) deliver, receive, carry, transport, or
ship in interstate or foreign commerce,
by any means whatsoever and in the
course of a commercial activity, any
such species; (F) sell or offer for sale in
interstate or foreign commerce any such
species; or (G) violate any regulation
pertaining to such species or to any
threatened species of fish or wildlife
listed pursuant to section 1533 of this
title and promulgated by the Secretary
pursuant to authority provided by this
chapter.’’ Section 11 of the ESA
provides for civil and criminal penalties
for violations of section 9 or regulations
issued under the ESA.
Whether section 9(a)(1) prohibitions
or other regulations are necessary and
advisable to provide for the
conservation of species depends in large
part upon the biological status of the
species, the potential impacts of various
activities on the species, and on factors
such as the existence and efficacy of
other conservation activities.
Statuses of the 20 Recently-Listed
Corals
We determined in the final listing rule
that the 20 coral species are not
currently in danger of extinction but are
likely to become so within the
foreseeable future. In the final listing
rule we identified nine threats to the
corals that posed either a current or
future extinction risk (79 FR 53851;
September 10, 2014) and further
classified the threats by importance.
Primary threats identified include ocean
warming, disease, and ocean
acidification. Threats of medium to low
importance include trophic effects of
fishing, sedimentation, nutrient
enrichment, sea-level rise, predation,
and collection and trade. See Tables 1
and 2 below for U.S. distributions of
these 20 threatened coral species. For
more details on the individual status
reviews, threat susceptibilities, and
listing determinations for each species,
please see the final listing rule (79 FR
53851; September 10, 2014). We also
determined Acropora palmata and
Acropora cervicornis continue to
warrant listing as threatened species;
the ESA 4(d) rule (73 FR 64264; October
29, 2009) for those two species
previously listed in 2006 remains
effective.
Developing Protective Regulations
We are now considering whether
there are protective regulations that are
necessary and advisable for the
conservation of these 20 recently listed
corals. We have flexibility under section
4(d) to tailor protective regulations
based on the contributions of other
existing conservation measures. The
4(d) regulations may prohibit, with
respect to threatened species, some or
all of the acts which section 9(a)(1) of
the ESA prohibits with respect to
1617
endangered species. For those
prohibitions we do apply, we may also
provide exceptions for certain
circumstances in which extending the
take prohibitions is not necessary and
advisable. For example, we can exempt
from regulations activities that may take
listed corals but ultimately provide an
overall conservation benefit.
Seven of the 15 threatened IndoPacific coral species have been
confirmed to occur within U.S. Pacific
jurisdictional areas including Guam, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, the Pacific Remote Island areas,
and American Samoa (See Table 1). This
information may change as more
surveys are conducted and better
information becomes available. The
remaining eight threatened Indo-Pacific
coral species have not yet been reported
or confirmed within U.S. jurisdiction
and are currently considered to occur
naturally as foreign species, entirely
outside of U.S. jurisdiction; however,
they may be observed within U.S.
jurisdictions in future surveys, and
several are commonly imported into the
United States for the marine aquarium
trade. All five threatened Caribbean
corals occur within U.S. jurisdiction
(See Table 2). One of the section 9(a)(1)
prohibitions that may be applied
pursuant to section 4(d) is the
prohibition on the take of species on the
high seas. We are therefore requesting
information for all 20 newly listed
threatened species, wherever they may
occur, to help inform our determination
of which take prohibitions may be
necessary and advisable for their
conservation.
TABLE 1—U.S. DISTRIBUTION OF 15 THREATENED INDO-PACIFIC CORAL SPECIES
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Guam
Acropora globiceps ..........................................................................................
Acropora jacquelineae .....................................................................................
Acropora lokani ................................................................................................
Acropora pharaonis .........................................................................................
Acropora retusa ...............................................................................................
Acropora rudis .................................................................................................
Acropora speciosa ...........................................................................................
Acropora tenella ...............................................................................................
Anacropora spinosa .........................................................................................
Euphyllia paradivisa .........................................................................................
Isopora crateriformis ........................................................................................
Montipora australiensis ....................................................................................
Pavona diffluens ..............................................................................................
Porites napopora .............................................................................................
Seriatopora aculeata ........................................................................................
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Commonwealth
of Northern
Mariana
Islands
Pacific
Remote
Island Areas
American
Samoa
X
........................
........................
........................
X
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
X
X
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X
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X
X
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X
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X
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X
X
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13JAP1
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 8 / Tuesday, January 13, 2015 / Proposed Rules
TABLE 2—U.S. DISTRIBUTION OF FIVE NEWLY-LISTED CARIBBEAN CORALS
Florida—
Atlantic
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin
Islands
Gulf of Mexico
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
........................
........................
X
X
X
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Mycetophyllia ferox ..........................................................................................
Dendrogyra cylindrus .......................................................................................
Orbicella annularis ...........................................................................................
Orbicella faveolata ...........................................................................................
Orbicella franksi ...............................................................................................
Request for Information
We are soliciting information from
other agencies and the public that will
help us determine what, if any,
protective regulations are necessary and
advisable for the conservation of these
20 newly listed coral species. This
includes information that will help us
understand and analyze impacts of
various activities, the existence and
efficacy of ongoing conservation
activities, and prohibitions that are both
necessary and advisable to reduce
threats and amenable to management for
the conservation of these 20 species.
Specifically, we are soliciting
information including the following: (1)
Current or planned activities within the
range of these species and their possible
impact on these species; (2) impacts
within the species’ ranges that fall
within any of the nine major threat
categories: Ocean warming, disease,
ocean acidification, sea-level rise,
nutrient enrichment, sedimentation,
predation, trophic effects of fishing, and
collection and trade; (3) information on
which of the section 9(a)(1) prohibitions
on take are necessary and advisable for
the conservation of these species, with
associated justification; (4) specific
activities that should be prohibited for
the conservation of the 20 coral species,
with associated justification; (5) specific
activities that should be excepted from
any prohibitions that may be applied
because they either provide a
conservation benefit or do not detract
from the conservation of these species,
with associated justification; (6) existing
permitting programs that may already
provide for the conservation of listed
corals through their activity evaluation
and permitting process, with associated
justification; and (7) the economic costs
and benefits likely to result from
protective regulations (see DATES and
ADDRESSES).
We will fully consider all relevant
information received in our
determination of what protective
regulations are necessary and advisable
for the conservation of the species.
References Cited
A complete list of references is
available at https://www.fpir.noaa.gov/
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16:38 Jan 12, 2015
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PRD/prd_coral.html and upon request
(see ADDRESSES).
Authority
The authority for this action is the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: January 2, 2015.
Eileen Sobeck,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015–00366 Filed 1–12–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 226
RIN 0648–BC56
Endangered and Threatened Species;
Proposed Designation of Critical
Habitat for the Arctic Ringed Seal;
Public Hearings
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public hearings.
AGENCY:
We, NMFS, announce the
specific dates and locations for four
public hearings in Alaska, one each in
Nome, Anchorage, Kotzebue, and
Barrow, on our proposed rule to
designate critical habitat for the
threatened Arctic subspecies (Phoca
hispida hispida) of the ringed seal
(Phoca hispida) under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA), which published in
the Federal Register on December 9,
2014. We also announce that a hearing
will be held in Bethel, AK.
DATES: Written comments on the
proposed rule must be received by
March 9, 2015. For specific dates of the
public hearings, see SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
SUMMARY:
Five public hearings will be
held in Alaska, one each in Nome,
Anchorage, Kotzebue, Barrow, and
Bethel: For specific locations of these
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
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hearings, see SUPPLMENTARY
INFORMATION.
You may submit written comments on
the proposed rule, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–2013–0114, by any one of the
following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
https://www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20130114, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
• Mail: Address written comments to
Jon Kurland, Assistant Regional
Administrator for Protected Resources,
Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Ellen
Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. Box
21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668.
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 by NMFS. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted for public
viewing on https://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. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/
A’’ in the required fields if you wish to
remain anonymous). Attachments to
electronic comments will be accepted in
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF
file formats only.
Electronic copies of the proposed
rule, list of references and supporting
documents, and the draft economic
report (i.e., Regulatory Impact Review
(RIR)/4(b)(2) Preparatory Assessment/
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act (IRFA)
report) prepared for this action are
available from https://
www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20130114 or from the NMFS Alaska Region
Web site at https://
alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tamara Olson, NMFS Alaska Region,
(907) 271–2373; Jon Kurland, NMFS
Alaska Region, (907) 586–7638; or Marta
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1616-1618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00366]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 223
[Docket No. 0911231415-4999-04]
RIN 0648-XT12
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Request for
Information for the Issuance of Protective Regulations Under Section
4(d) of the Endangered Species Act for the Conservation of Threatened
Corals
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advanced notice of proposed rulemaking; request for
information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), are
considering proposing protective regulations to provide for the
conservation of the 20 coral species recently listed as threatened
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Fifteen of the listed species
occur in the Indo-Pacific and five occur in the Caribbean. This
advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) is intended to alert
other agencies and the public of our planning efforts and request
public input that will assist in identifying actions and activities
that may impact the status of these corals, as well as information on
the existence and efficacy of on-going conservation activities. This
information will help inform our evaluation of what, if any, protective
regulations are necessary and advisable for the conservation of these
species.
DATES: Responses to this request for information must be received by
March 16, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, information, or data on this
document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2014-0158, by any of the following
methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014-0158. Click the
``Comment Now'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach
your comments.
Mail:
[cir] To submit written comments regarding the species listed in
Table 1 below, contact the Pacific Islands Region: Lance Smith,
Protected Resources Division, National Marine Fisheries Service,
Pacific Islands Regional Office, NOAA Inouye Regional Center, 1845 Wasp
Blvd., Building 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
[cir] To submit written comments regarding the species listed in
Table 2 below, contact the Southeast Region: Stephania Bolden,
Protected Resources Division, National Marine Fisheries Service,
Southeast Regional Office, 263 13th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL
33701.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lance Smith, NMFS, Pacific Islands
Regional Office, 808-725-5131; Kimberly Maison, NMFS, Pacific Islands
Regional Office, 808-725-5143; Stephania Bolden, NMFS, Southeast
Regional Office, 727-824-5312; or Marta Nammack, NMFS Office of
Protected Resources, 301-427-8469.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On September 10, 2014, we published a final rule listing 20 species
of coral as threatened under the ESA (79 FR 53851). The 15 Indo-Pacific
species include Acropora globiceps, Acropora jacquelineae, Acropora
lokani, Acropora pharaonis, Acropora retusa, Acropora rudis, Acropora
speciosa, Acropora tenella, Anacropora spinosa, Isopora crateriformis,
Euphyllia paradivisa, Montipora australiensis, Porites napopora, Pavona
diffluens, and Seriatopora aculeata. The five Caribbean species include
Dendrogyra cylindrus, Orbicella annularis, Orbicella faveolata,
Orbicella franksi, and Mycetophyllia ferox. The final listing rule
describes the background of the listing actions for these 20 corals and
provides a summary of our conclusions regarding the statuses of the
listed corals. For additional background and a summary of natural
history and threats to the species, the reader is referred to the
Status Review Report, Supplemental Information Report, and Final
Listing Rule (all three are available at https://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_coral.html). At the time of listing we did not propose any
protective regulations pursuant to section 4(d) of the ESA.
ESA section 9(a)(1) prohibitions are automatically applied to
species listed as endangered but not to species listed as threatened.
Section 4(d) of the ESA provides that, whenever a species is listed as
threatened, the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) shall issue such
regulations as she deems necessary and advisable to provide for the
conservation of the species. Such regulations may include any or all of
the prohibitions in ESA section 9(a)(1) that apply automatically to
species listed as
[[Page 1617]]
endangered. Those section 9(a)(1) prohibitions make it unlawful, with
limited specified exceptions, for any person subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States to: ``(A) Import any such species
into, or export any such species from the United States; (B) take any
such species within the United States or the territorial sea of the
United States; (C) take any such species upon the high seas; (D)
possess, sell, deliver, carry, transport, or ship, by any means
whatsoever, any such species taken in violation of subparagraphs (B)
and (C); (E) deliver, receive, carry, transport, or ship in interstate
or foreign commerce, by any means whatsoever and in the course of a
commercial activity, any such species; (F) sell or offer for sale in
interstate or foreign commerce any such species; or (G) violate any
regulation pertaining to such species or to any threatened species of
fish or wildlife listed pursuant to section 1533 of this title and
promulgated by the Secretary pursuant to authority provided by this
chapter.'' Section 11 of the ESA provides for civil and criminal
penalties for violations of section 9 or regulations issued under the
ESA.
Whether section 9(a)(1) prohibitions or other regulations are
necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of species
depends in large part upon the biological status of the species, the
potential impacts of various activities on the species, and on factors
such as the existence and efficacy of other conservation activities.
Statuses of the 20 Recently-Listed Corals
We determined in the final listing rule that the 20 coral species
are not currently in danger of extinction but are likely to become so
within the foreseeable future. In the final listing rule we identified
nine threats to the corals that posed either a current or future
extinction risk (79 FR 53851; September 10, 2014) and further
classified the threats by importance. Primary threats identified
include ocean warming, disease, and ocean acidification. Threats of
medium to low importance include trophic effects of fishing,
sedimentation, nutrient enrichment, sea-level rise, predation, and
collection and trade. See Tables 1 and 2 below for U.S. distributions
of these 20 threatened coral species. For more details on the
individual status reviews, threat susceptibilities, and listing
determinations for each species, please see the final listing rule (79
FR 53851; September 10, 2014). We also determined Acropora palmata and
Acropora cervicornis continue to warrant listing as threatened species;
the ESA 4(d) rule (73 FR 64264; October 29, 2009) for those two species
previously listed in 2006 remains effective.
Developing Protective Regulations
We are now considering whether there are protective regulations
that are necessary and advisable for the conservation of these 20
recently listed corals. We have flexibility under section 4(d) to
tailor protective regulations based on the contributions of other
existing conservation measures. The 4(d) regulations may prohibit, with
respect to threatened species, some or all of the acts which section
9(a)(1) of the ESA prohibits with respect to endangered species. For
those prohibitions we do apply, we may also provide exceptions for
certain circumstances in which extending the take prohibitions is not
necessary and advisable. For example, we can exempt from regulations
activities that may take listed corals but ultimately provide an
overall conservation benefit.
Seven of the 15 threatened Indo-Pacific coral species have been
confirmed to occur within U.S. Pacific jurisdictional areas including
Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Pacific
Remote Island areas, and American Samoa (See Table 1). This information
may change as more surveys are conducted and better information becomes
available. The remaining eight threatened Indo-Pacific coral species
have not yet been reported or confirmed within U.S. jurisdiction and
are currently considered to occur naturally as foreign species,
entirely outside of U.S. jurisdiction; however, they may be observed
within U.S. jurisdictions in future surveys, and several are commonly
imported into the United States for the marine aquarium trade. All five
threatened Caribbean corals occur within U.S. jurisdiction (See Table
2). One of the section 9(a)(1) prohibitions that may be applied
pursuant to section 4(d) is the prohibition on the take of species on
the high seas. We are therefore requesting information for all 20 newly
listed threatened species, wherever they may occur, to help inform our
determination of which take prohibitions may be necessary and advisable
for their conservation.
Table 1--U.S. Distribution of 15 Threatened Indo-Pacific Coral Species
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commonwealth
of Northern Pacific Remote
Guam Mariana Island Areas American Samoa
Islands
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acropora globiceps.......................... X X X X
Acropora jacquelineae....................... ............... ............... ............... X
Acropora lokani............................. ............... ............... ............... ...............
Acropora pharaonis.......................... ............... ............... ............... ...............
Acropora retusa............................. X X X X
Acropora rudis.............................. ............... ............... ............... ...............
Acropora speciosa........................... ............... ............... X X
Acropora tenella............................ ............... ............... ............... ...............
Anacropora spinosa.......................... ............... ............... ............... ...............
Euphyllia paradivisa........................ ............... ............... ............... X
Isopora crateriformis....................... ............... ............... ............... X
Montipora australiensis..................... ............... ............... ............... ...............
Pavona diffluens............................ ............... ............... ............... ...............
Porites napopora............................ ............... ............... ............... ...............
Seriatopora aculeata........................ X X ............... ...............
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[[Page 1618]]
Table 2--U.S. Distribution of Five Newly-Listed Caribbean Corals
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Florida-- U.S. Virgin
Atlantic Puerto Rico Islands Gulf of Mexico
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mycetophyllia ferox......................... X X X ...............
Dendrogyra cylindrus........................ X X X ...............
Orbicella annularis......................... X X X X
Orbicella faveolata......................... X X X X
Orbicella franksi........................... X X X X
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Request for Information
We are soliciting information from other agencies and the public
that will help us determine what, if any, protective regulations are
necessary and advisable for the conservation of these 20 newly listed
coral species. This includes information that will help us understand
and analyze impacts of various activities, the existence and efficacy
of ongoing conservation activities, and prohibitions that are both
necessary and advisable to reduce threats and amenable to management
for the conservation of these 20 species. Specifically, we are
soliciting information including the following: (1) Current or planned
activities within the range of these species and their possible impact
on these species; (2) impacts within the species' ranges that fall
within any of the nine major threat categories: Ocean warming, disease,
ocean acidification, sea-level rise, nutrient enrichment,
sedimentation, predation, trophic effects of fishing, and collection
and trade; (3) information on which of the section 9(a)(1) prohibitions
on take are necessary and advisable for the conservation of these
species, with associated justification; (4) specific activities that
should be prohibited for the conservation of the 20 coral species, with
associated justification; (5) specific activities that should be
excepted from any prohibitions that may be applied because they either
provide a conservation benefit or do not detract from the conservation
of these species, with associated justification; (6) existing
permitting programs that may already provide for the conservation of
listed corals through their activity evaluation and permitting process,
with associated justification; and (7) the economic costs and benefits
likely to result from protective regulations (see DATES and ADDRESSES).
We will fully consider all relevant information received in our
determination of what protective regulations are necessary and
advisable for the conservation of the species.
References Cited
A complete list of references is available at https://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_coral.html and upon request (see ADDRESSES).
Authority
The authority for this action is the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: January 2, 2015.
Eileen Sobeck,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-00366 Filed 1-12-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P