94-17545. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of Comment Period on Proposed Threatened Status for the Goliath Frog  

  • [Federal Register Volume 59, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 19, 1994)]
    [Unknown Section]
    [Page 0]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 94-17545]
    
    
    [[Page Unknown]]
    
    [Federal Register: July 19, 1994]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
    
    Fish and Wildlife Service
    
    50 CFR Part 17
    
    RIN 1018-AB66
    
     
    
    Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reopening of 
    Comment Period on Proposed Threatened Status for the Goliath Frog
    
    AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
    
    ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of reopening of comment period.
    
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    SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces that 
    additional information received during the comment period on the 
    proposed rule to list the goliath frog (Conraua goliath) as threatened 
    leaves questions as to whether the listing is warranted. The Service 
    has therefore reopened the comment period through October 17, 1994, on 
    the proposed action to list the goliath frog as threatened. Information 
    received indicated that the species has a slightly wider distribution, 
    occurs in a wider range of aquatic habitats, and may be more abundant 
    than believed at the time that the proposed rule was issued. In 
    addition, local utilization and international trade appears to be less 
    of a threat to the species. Additional information on each of these 
    considerations is sought. Furthermore, there remains the concern about 
    the effect of the unquantified and undescribed effect of loss of 
    rainforest habitat on goliath frog populations, and the projections for 
    additional habitat loss. Information is also sought of these issues, as 
    well as any population estimates or surveys.
    
    DATES: The comment period, which originally closed on November 12, 
    1991, now closes October 17, 1994.
    
    ADDRESSES: Comments, information, and questions should be sent to the 
    Chief, Office of Scientific Authority; Mail Stop: Arlington Square, 
    room 725; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Washington, DC. 20240. (Fax 
    number 703-358-2276). Express and messenger-delivered mail should be 
    addressed to the Office of Scientific Authority, room 750, 4401 North 
    Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22203. Comments and other 
    information received will be available for public inspection, by 
    appointment, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the 
    Arlington, Virginia address.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Dr. Charles W. Dane, Chief, Office of Scientific Authority, at the 
    above address (phone 703-358-1708).
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    Background
    
        The goliath frog (Conraua goliath) of Central Africa, reaches a 
    recorded weight of up to 7.2 pounds (3.3 kilograms), a head and body 
    length of 12.6 inches (320 millimeters), and a total length, including 
    the hind leg and foot of about 32 inches (813 millimeters); there have 
    been reports of even larger individuals (Sabater-Pi 1985; Zahl 1967). 
    However, this giant amphibian has a relatively small range. It occurs 
    along major rivers in dense rainforest within an area of about 10,000 
    square miles (26,000 square kilometers) in Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, 
    and southwestern Cameroon.
        In a petition dated April 9, 1991, the Service was requested to add 
    the goliath frog to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. The 
    petition was submitted by Dr. Cristina M. Richards (Biology Department, 
    Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48202) and Dr. Victor H. 
    Hutchison (Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 
    Oklahoma 73069). It was accompanied by data on the biology of the 
    goliath frog, and pointed out such concerns as slow maturation, rarity, 
    restricted distribution, habitat destruction, local hunting, 
    international trade, high price for living specimens, and poor 
    adaptation to captivity.
        Section 4(b)(3) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended 
    (Act) requires two findings with respect to a petition to list a 
    species. To the maximum extent practical, within 90 days of receipt, a 
    finding must be made on whether the petition presents substantial 
    information indicating that the requested action may be warranted; and 
    if it is determined that the petition presents such information, the 
    Service usually announces this finding and initiates a status review 
    seeking additional information on the status of the species, Then, 
    within 12 months of receipt of the petition, the Service must make a 
    finding as to whether the action is warranted, not warranted, or 
    warranted but precluded by other listing activity.
        The Service examined the data submitted by the petitioners and 
    consulted other authorities. It also learned that the goliath frog is 
    classified as vulnerable by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). This 
    review led the Service to make both of the required findings, 
    determining that the requested action was warranted. These findings 
    were incorporated in a proposal to list the goliath frog as a 
    threatened species, which was published in the Federal Register of 
    September 12, 1991 (56 FR 46397).
        Concurrently with the petition submitted under the Act, the Service 
    received a request to propose the listing of the goliath frog in 
    Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered 
    Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in response to a February 7, 
    1991, Federal Register notice (56 FR 4965). The Service requested 
    comments on this proposal in the July 24, 1991, Federal Register (56 FR 
    33894). After reviewing the information received, the Service submitted 
    a proposal to include the species in Appendix II on October 4, 1991, in 
    order to fully consider information that might become available before 
    or at the Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, 
    which was held March 2-13, 1992, in Kyoto, Japan. That proposal was 
    withdrawn at the CITES meeting.
        The information received in response to the request for comments 
    contained in the proposed rule, as well as the comments received at the 
    CITES meeting, left questions as to whether listing under the Act is 
    warranted. Consequently, a final decision has yet to be announced.
    
    Additional Information Received
    
        The range of the goliath frog is at least somewhat larger than 
    presented in the proposed rule. The original petitioners have indicated 
    that the species does occur in a small part of Gabon. The species does 
    not appear to be limited to areas of cascades and rapids, but appears 
    to be found in broad rivers and deep streams. However, there remains a 
    question of whether these river/streams must be well oxygenated and 
    whether the species also occurs in slightly brackish water. There is 
    concern that the ``frog's habitat is being destroyed to open land for 
    cultivation and provide firewood'' (Amiet, pers. comm.), but the loss 
    of habitat has not been quantified and establishment of protected areas 
    may have stabilized any population decline.
        The species may not be as rare as was thought, and it appears that 
    the species may be readily found in small numbers by knowledgeable 
    persons. However, no population estimates or surveys are known. Local 
    utilization may not be as much of a threat as was originally reported. 
    Although the frog may be utilized for food when encountered in 
    Cameroon, it is reported that Gabonese do not eat frogs in general or 
    use them for traditional medical or religious reasons and that the 
    goliath frog is not the object of much trade (Gabon's Director of 
    Wildlife per 10/22/91 cable). Furthermore, relatively little is known 
    about the reproductive biology of this species; the suggested slow 
    maturation is based only on the large size of fully grown individuals. 
    Without information on the reproductive biology and productivity, one 
    cannot calculate sustainable utilization rates, although this might be 
    inferred from other information.
        The threat of international trade appears to be less than believed 
    when the proposed rule was published. In response to the proposal by 
    the United States to include the goliath frog in Appendix II, a report 
    (Brautigam, 1992) cited two negative responses to the Service's 
    proposal to list the goliath frog as threatened under the Act plus 
    comments from one of the same respondents but addressing the CITES 
    Appendix II proposal. This review also noted that the Government of 
    Cameroon reportedly prohibits the export of the species for the pet 
    trade. Based on the information presented in the U.S. proposal and the 
    new information, the CITES Secretariat recommended rejection of the 
    U.S. proposal stating that the species does not seem to be threatened 
    by international trade. TRAFFIC International also recommended 
    rejection of the proposal, but stated that such a listing could serve 
    as a monitoring tool to gather trade data (Report on Recommendations on 
    Proposals to Amend the CITES Appendices at the Eighth Meeting of the 
    Conference of the Parties, TRAFFIC, March 1992).
        The exact number of individuals exported is unknown but most 
    reports suggest a figure in the hundreds during the 1980s. Most of the 
    international trade was presumed to be to the United States. The 
    reported ban on exportation from Cameroon apparently has not been fully 
    successful. Service records indicate that at least 78 individuals were 
    exported from Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon to the United States in 
    1992 and 1993, with only six of these being imported in 1993, one as 
    recently as October 21, 1993. Recent information on other international 
    trade is lacking.
        A consensus among correspondents is that it is possible to 
    successfully transport and maintain the goliath frog, and that some 
    individuals have survived for months or years in captivity, but that 
    such efforts involve considerable effort and diligence and that many 
    have been lost. Furthermore, no one as reported successful breeding of 
    this species in captivity. Advertisements submitted by the petitioners 
    showed that the asking price in early 1990 was $599.00 for ``small'' 
    specimens and $2,500.00 for individuals weighing 6-9 pounds. In July 
    1992, a zoo purchased six frogs from an importer at $1,200.00 each. 
    After a recent inquiry it was suggested that the price might be between 
    $1,500.00 and $1,800.00, but this was qualified by the statement that 
    nobody was buying this species.
    
    Public Comments Solicited
    
        The Service intends that any final decision on the proposed rule 
    will accurately reflect the status of the species and will be based on 
    the best available scientific and commercial information. Therefore, 
    comments and suggestions concerning any aspect of this proposed rule 
    are hereby solicited from the public, concerned governmental agencies, 
    the scientific community, industry, private interests, and other 
    parties. Information is sought on the following listing criteria 
    described in the Act:
        (1) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or 
    curtailment of this species' habitat or its range,
        (2) Any overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, 
    or education purposes;
        (3) Disease factors or natural predation that may threaten this 
    species;
        (4) Any inadequacies of existing regulatory mechanisms; and
        (5) Other natural or manmade factors affecting this species' 
    continued existence.
        The Service is particularly interested in the following 
    information:
        (1) Information on habitat requirements, distribution of that 
    habitat, and threats to that habitat, as well as documentation of past 
    or future habitat losses and threats to that habitat throughout the 
    range of the goliath frog; and in particular quantification of the loss 
    of rainforest in the species' range, and information on the 
    displacement or extirpation of the species when rainforest along river 
    habitat of the species is opened for cultivation.
        (2) Information as to any known population estimates or surveys of 
    this species;
        (3) Further information on local utilization of this species;
        (4) Any information on the reproductive biology of this species, 
    especially as it may be related to its ability to sustain harvest;
        (5) Information as to the extent of commercial trade in this 
    species, especially information on international trade other than 
    imports into the United States;
        (6) Information as to current ability to transport and maintain 
    this species in captivity; and
        (7) Information as to current ability to reproduce this species in 
    captivity.
    
    Literature Cited
    
    Brautigam, A. 1992. Analyses of proposals to amend the CITES 
    Appendices. Prepared by IUCN Species Survival Commission Trade 
    Specialist Group, TRAFFIC, and World Conservation Monitoring Center. 
    Submitted to the Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties, 
    Kyoto, Japan. IUCN--the World Conservation Union.
    Sabater-Pi, J. 1985. Contribution to the biology of the giant frog 
    (Conraua goliath, Boulenger). Amphibia-Reptilia 6:143-153.
    Zahl, P.A. 1967. In quest of the world's largest frog. Natl. Geogr. 
    134: 446-452.
    
        Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544.
    
    List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17
    
        Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and 
    recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
    
        Dated: July 14, 1994.
    Mollie H. Beattie,
    Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
    [FR Doc. 94-17545 Filed 7-15-94; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4310-55-M
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
07/19/1994
Department:
Fish and Wildlife Service
Entry Type:
Uncategorized Document
Action:
Proposed rule; notice of reopening of comment period.
Document Number:
94-17545
Dates:
The comment period, which originally closed on November 12, 1991, now closes October 17, 1994.
Pages:
0-0 (1 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Federal Register: July 19, 1994
RINs:
1018-AB66: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants
RIN Links:
https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/1018-AB66/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants
CFR: (1)
50 CFR 17