98-26768. Endangered and Threatened Species; Petition to Delist Pacific Salmon

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 193 (Tuesday, October 6, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53635-53636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26768]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 222 and 227

[I.D. 081098D]


Endangered and Threatened Species; Petition to Delist Pacific 
Salmon

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


[[Page 53636]]


ACTION: Notification of petition finding.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has received a petition to delist all west coast salmon 
(Oncorhynchus spp.) inhabiting the Pacific Basin, including all rivers 
and tributaries emptying into the Pacific Basin, from the endangered 
species list. NMFS has determined that the petition does not contain 
any new, substantial scientific or commercial information, indicating 
that the petitioned action may be warranted.

DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on September 28, 
1998.

ADDRESSES: Requests for information concerning this petition should be 
sent to Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office of Protected 
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East West Highway, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910; telephone: [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Lierheimer at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the ESA of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C et 
seq.), requires that NMFS make a finding on whether a petition to list, 
delist, or reclassify a species presents substantial scientific or 
commercial information to demonstrate that the petitioned action may be 
warranted. NMFS' standard for substantial information is stated at 50 
CFR 424.14(b) as ``that amount of information that would lead a 
reasonable person to believe that the measure proposed in the petition 
may be warranted.'' This finding is to be based on all information 
available to NMFS at the time. To the maximum extent practicable, this 
finding is to be made within 90 days of the receipt of the petition, 
and the finding is to be published promptly in the Federal Register. If 
the finding is positive, NMFS is also required to promptly commence a 
review of the status of the involved species.
    NMFS has made a 90-day finding on a petition to delist all Pacific 
salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.). The petition, dated July 8, 1998, was 
submitted by Mr. Richard A. Gierak, Director of New Frontiers 
Institute, Inc., and was received by NMFS on July, 14, 1998. The 
petitioner requested that NMFS delist all west coast salmon inhabiting 
the entire Pacific Basin including all rivers and tributaries emptying 
into the Pacific Basin.
    The petitioner submitted information from various documents from 
1985 through 1998, including NMFS publications, reports, and Federal 
Register documents of salmon listings, and from personal communications 
on the primary causative factors in the decline of coho salmon in 
northern California rivers. The petitioner identifies two categories of 
major factors contributing to the decline of northern California coho: 
nature (i.e., floods, fire, drought, El Nino), and human activities 
(i.e., the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the overpopulation of 
salmonid predators, the removal of salmonid eggs for hatchery 
production, and the destruction of estuarine habitats along the coast).
    Under section 4(a)(1) of the ESA and the listing regulations at 50 
CFR 424.11(c), when a species is considered for listing, NMFS must 
determine whether the species is endangered or threatened due to any 
one or a combination of the 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 mechanism; or (5) other natural or manmade factors 
affecting its continued existence.
    Under 50 CFR 424.11(d), the factors considered in delisting a 
species are the same as those used to list a species. A species may be 
delisted only if the best scientific and commercial data indicates that 
the species is no longer threatened or endangered for the following 
reasons: (1) Extinction; (2) recovery (the point at which the purposes 
of the ESA are no longer required); (3) subsequent investigation 
reveals that the original data or the interpretation of that data used 
to list the species was in error.
    For listed coho salmon, the present condition of the population is 
a result of long-standing, human-induced conditions (i.e., harvest, 
habitat degradation, and artificial propagation) that serve to 
exacerbate the negative effects of adverse environmental conditions 
(i.e., drought, poor ocean conditions). However, the present conditions 
of listed coho salmon and the information presented throughout the 
petition as factors directly attributable to the devastation of salmon 
populations correspond to the factors listed here, requiring NMFS to 
list a species under the ESA. Information demonstrating that listed 
salmon have recovered or that the threats to salmon no longer exist 
were not presented in the petition.
    NMFS has reviewed the petition, the literature cited in the 
petition, and other available literature and information. NMFS finds 
that the petitioned action does not present substantial scientific or 
commercial information indicating that delisting Pacific salmon may be 
warranted.

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

    Dated: September 28, 1998.
Andrew A. Rosenberg,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-26768 Filed 10-5-98; 8:45 am]
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