1908 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 8 / Thursday, January 12, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

484) to be sufficiently great to threaten 

the continued existence of the 

Humboldt marten, nor do we have 

information in our files indicating that 

mortality from vehicle collisions 

threatens martens in coastal northern 

California and coastal Oregon. The 

petition also states that martens are 

vulnerable to mortality from starvation 

and poisoning, although the petition 

acknowledges that the extent of the 

threat of these factors to the Humboldt 

marten has not been quantified (CBD 

and EPIC 2010, p. 28). We conclude that 

information in the petition and in our 

files does not indicate that mortality 

from poisoning or starvation threatens 

the continued existence of martens in 

coastal northern California and coastal 

Oregon. However, we will evaluate 

these potential threats more thoroughly 

in our 12-month finding. 

The petition further states that global 

climate change threatens the Humboldt 

marten (CBD and EPIC 2010, p. 28). 

According to the petition, vegetation 

changes resulting from climate change 

could cause changes in the type and 

availability of prey for martens and 

could affect availability of resting and 

denning sites, shrub cover, and canopy 

cover. The petition also states that 

climate change could lead to tree 

mortality from insect infestation, 

disease, and drought. While we 

acknowledge that climate change will 

result in a variety of environmental 

changes including changes in vegetation 

composition and structure, information 

presented in the petition is too general 

and speculative to determine whether 

climate change effects may threaten the 

continued existence of the Humboldt 

marten, and we do not have specific 

information available in our files 

indicating that climate change threatens 

the continued existence of the 

Humboldt marten. 

Summary of Factor E 

In summary, we find that the 

information provided in the petition, as 

well as other information readily 

available in our files, presents 

substantial scientific or commercial 

information indicating that the 

petitioned action may be warranted due 

to other natural or manmade factors 

affecting its continued existence, 

specifically small population effects. We 

will review threats posed by small 

population effects more thoroughly 

during our status review. 

Finding 

On the basis of our determination 

under section 4(b)(3)(A) of the Act, we 

determine that the petition presents 

substantial scientific or commercial 

information indicating that listing the 

Humboldt marten throughout all or a 

significant portion of its range may be 

warranted. This finding is based on 

substantial information provided in the 

petition and in our files for Factor A, 

Factor C, Factor D, and Factor E. We 

determine that the information provided 

under Factor B is not substantial. 

Because we have found that the 

petition presents substantial 

information indicating that listing the 

Humboldt marten may be warranted, we 

are initiating a status review to 

determine whether listing the Humboldt 

marten under the Act is warranted. 

Because ongoing genetics research may 

result in changes to American marten 

taxonomy, we will examine whether the 

purported subspecific designation of 

Humboldt marten is appropriate during 

our status review. If the Humboldt 

marten does not maintain its status as a 

subspecies, we will examine during our 

status review whether the Humboldt 

marten meets criteria for designation as 

a distinct population segment under our 

February 7, 1996, DPS policy (61 FR 

4722). 

The ‘‘substantial information’’ 

standard for a 90-day finding differs 

from the Act’s ‘‘best scientific and 

commercial data’’ standard that applies 

to a status review to determine whether 

a petitioned action is warranted. A 90- 

day finding does not constitute a status 

review under the Act. In a 12-month 

finding, we will determine whether a 

petitioned action is warranted after we 

have completed a thorough status 

review of the species, which is 

conducted following a substantial 90- 

day finding. Because the Act’s standards 

for 90-day and 12-month findings are 

different, as described above, a 

substantial 90-day finding does not 

mean that the 12-month finding will 

result in a warranted finding. 

References Cited 

A complete list of references cited is 

available on the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov and upon request 

from the Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office 

(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section). 

Authors 

The primary authors of this document 

are the staff members of the Arcata Fish 

and Wildlife Office (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section). 

Authority 

The authority for this action is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Dated: December 30, 2011. 

Rowan W. Gould, 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–479 Filed 1–11–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

RIN 0648–AY74 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery Off the Southern 

Atlantic States; Amendment 20A 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council (Council) has submitted 

Amendment 20A to the Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) for the 

Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South 

Atlantic Region (Amendment 20A) for 

review, approval, and implementation 

by NMFS. Amendment 20A proposes 

actions for the wreckfish individual 

transferable quota (ITQ) program, 

including actions to define and revert 

inactive wreckfish quota shares, 

redistribute reverted quota shares to 

remaining shareholders, establish a cap 

on the number of wreckfish quota shares 

a single entity may own, and establish 

an appeals process for redistribution of 

reverted wreckfish quota shares. The 

actions contained in Amendment 20A 

are intended to help achieve the 

optimum yield (OY) from the wreckfish 

commercial sector in accordance with 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before March 12, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the amendment identified by 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2011–0277’’ by any of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic submissions: Submit 

electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Nikhil Mehta, Southeast 

Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 8 / Thursday, January 12, 2012 / Proposed Rules 1909 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

To submit comments through the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov, click on ‘‘submit a 

comment’’, then enter ‘‘NOAA–NMFS– 

2011–0277’’ in the keyword search and 

click on ‘‘search’’. To view posted 

comments during the comment period, 

enter ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2011–0277’’ in 

the keyword search and click on 

‘‘search’’. NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter N/A in the required 

field if you wish to remain anonymous). 

You may submit attachments to 

electronic comments in Microsoft Word, 

Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 

formats only. 

Comments received through means 

not specified in this rule will not be 

considered. 

Electronic copies of Amendment 20A 

may be obtained from the Southeast 

Regional Office Web site at http:// 

sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/ 

SASnapperGrouperHomepage.htm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nikhil Mehta, telephone: (727) 824– 

5305, or email: nikhil.mehta@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act requires each 

regional fishery management council to 

submit any FMP or amendment to 

NMFS for review and approval, partial 

approval, or disapproval. The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires 

that NMFS, upon receiving a plan or 

amendment, publish an announcement 

in the Federal Register notifying the 

public that the FMP or amendment is 

available for review and comment. 

The FMP being revised by 

Amendment 20A was prepared by the 

Council and implemented through 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

Background 

Wreckfish is part of the snappergrouper fishery and is managed under 

the FMP for the Snapper-Grouper 

Fishery of the South Atlantic Region 

(Snapper-Grouper FMP). The wreckfish 

commercial sector has been managed 

under an ITQ program since March 

1992, through Amendment 5 to the 

Snapper-Grouper FMP, in order to end 

derby fishing (race to fish) practices. 

Currently, there is latent effort in the 

wreckfish commercial sector with very 

few active participants. In August 2010, 

the Council’s Scientific and Statistical 

Committee (SSC) recommended an 

acceptable biological catch (ABC) for 

wreckfish off the southern Atlantic 

states of 250,000 lb (113,389 kg), round 

weight. The proposed rule for the 

Comprehensive Annual Catch Limit 

Amendment (Comprehensive ACL 

Amendment) published on December 1, 

2011 (76 FR 74757), and would 

implement an ACL of 250,000 lb 

(113,389 kg), round weight for 

wreckfish. The Comprehensive ACL 

Amendment would further allocate 95 

percent of the wreckfish ACL to the 

commercial sector (237,500 lb; 107,728 

kg, round weight). In November 2011, 

the Council’s SSC met and 

recommended a revised wreckfish ABC 

equal to 235,000 lb (106,594 kg), round 

weight. The Council then met in 

December 2011 and reviewed and 

accepted the SSC’s recommendation to 

reduce the wreckfish ABC which would 

in turn reduce the wreckfish ACL. 

Therefore, to incorporate this 

recommended revised ACL, NMFS 

published an amended proposed rule 

for the Comprehensive ACL 

Amendment on December 30, 2011 (76 

FR 82264) to implement the revised 

wreckfish ABC and ACL of 235,000 lb 

(106,594 kg), round weight, of which 

223,250 lb (101,264 kg) would be 

allocated to the commercial sector. This 

would be an 89 percent reduction from 

the current total allowable catch for 

wreckfish of 2 million lb (907,185 kg), 

round weight. The intent of Amendment 

20A is to achieve OY in the wreckfish 

commercial sector while maximizing 

harvest potential and not exceeding the 

ACL. 

Define and Revert Inactive Wreckfish 

Quota Shares 

The ACL for the wreckfish 

commercial sector proposed in the 

Comprehensive ACL Amendment and 

in the amended proposed rule, would 

result in a significant reduction in the 

amount of available harvest associated 

with each wreckfish quota share, 

including inactive wreckfish quota 

shares, in order to maintain harvest at 

or below the ACL. As a result, if inactive 

wreckfish quota shares are not reverted 

it is likely that harvest would only reach 

approximately 130,735–160,338 lb 

(59,300–72,728 kg), round weight, after 

applying the new ACL. Out of the 20 

current wreckfish quota shareholders, 

there are 13 inactive wreckfish quota 

shareholders holding a combined 28.18 

percent of wreckfish quota shares. 

Amendment 20A proposes to revert 

these wreckfish quota shares and 

redistribute them among the seven 

remaining active wreckfish quota 

shareholders. 

Redistribute Reverted Wreckfish Quota 

Shares to Remaining Shareholders 

Amendment 20A proposes to 

redistribute the above mentioned 

wreckfish quota shares to remaining 

wreckfish quota shareholders based on 

landings history from fishing years 

2006/2007 through 2010/2011. The 

percentage of wreckfish quota shares 

redistributed to the remaining wreckfish 

quota shareholders would range from 

0.04 percent to 9.91 percent. 

Establish a Cap on the Number of 

Wreckfish Quota Shares a Single Entity 

May Own 

Amendment 20A proposes to 

establish a cap of 49 percent of the total 

wreckfish quota shares a single entity 

can own. This would prevent any one 

entity from holding the majority of 

wreckfish quota shares, and would 

result in no active entities exceeding the 

quota share cap. 

Establish an Appeals Process for 

Redistribution of Wreckfish Quota 

Shares 

Five percent of the wreckfish quota 

shares for the 2012/2013 fishing year 

would be set-aside by Amendment 20A, 

to resolve any appeals of wreckfish 

quota shares for a period of 90-days 

starting on the effective date of the final 

rule. The Regional Administrator (RA) 

would review, evaluate, and provide 

final decisions on appeals. Hardship 

arguments would not be considered. 

The RA would determine the outcome 

of appeals based on NMFS’ logbooks. If 

NMFS’ logbooks are not available, the 

RA could use state landings records. 

Appellants would submit NMFS’ 

logbooks or state landings records to 

support their appeal. After the appeals 

process has been completed, any 

amount of quota shares remaining from 

the set-aside would be redistributed to 

remaining ITQ shareholders, according 

to the redistribution method specified 

above. 

A proposed rule that would 

implement measures outlined in 

Amendment 20A has been drafted. In 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, NMFS is evaluating the proposed 

rule to determine whether it is 

consistent with the FMPs, the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law. If that determination is 

affirmative, NMFS will publish the 

proposed rule in the Federal Register 

for public review and comment. 

Comments received by March 12, 

2012, will be considered by NMFS in its 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
1910 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 8 / Thursday, January 12, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

decision to approve, disapprove, or 

partially approve Amendment 20A. 

Comments received after that date will 

not be considered by NMFS in this 

decision. All comments received by 

NMFS on Amendment 20A or the 

proposed rule for Amendment 20A 

during their respective comment 

periods will be addressed. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: January 6, 2012. 

Steven Thur, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–398 Filed 1–11–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 100217095–1780–03] 

RIN 0648–AY56 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 

Amendment 32 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS published a proposed 

rule on November 2, 2011 (76 FR 67656) 

to implement management measures 

described in Amendment 32 to the 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the 

Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of 

Mexico (Amendment 32) prepared by 

the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council (Council). During the comment 

period for that proposed rule, NMFS 

identified an inconsistency in the 

codified text of that rule regarding the 

accountability measures for recreational 

gag and red grouper that needs 

correction. This rule proposes to further 

revise the recreational accountability 

measures for gag and red grouper to 

correctly specify what will occur if the 

ACL is exceeded and the species is 

overfished. This proposed rule is 

intended to end overfishing of gag, 

allow the gag stock to rebuild, and comanage gag and red grouper by 

implementing concurrent management 

measures. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before January 27, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the proposed rule identified by 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2011–0135’’ by any of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic submissions: Submit 

electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Peter Hood, Southeast 

Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

To submit comments through the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov, click on ‘‘submit a 

comment,’’ then enter ‘‘NOAA–NMFS– 

2011–0135’’ in the keyword search and 

click on ‘‘search.’’ To view posted 

comments during the comment period, 

enter ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2011–0135’’ in 

the keyword search and click on 

‘‘search.’’ NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter N/A in the required 

field if you wish to remain anonymous). 

You may submit attachments to 

electronic comments in Microsoft Word, 

Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 

formats only. 

Comments through means not 

specified in this rule will not be 

accepted. 

Electronic copies of Amendment 32, 

which includes a draft environmental 

impact statement (DEIS), an initial 

regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA), 

and a regulatory impact review, may be 

obtained from the Southeast Regional 

Office Web Site at http:// 

sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/ 

GrouperSnapperandReefFish.htm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Peter Hood, Southeast Regional Office, 

NMFS, telephone (727) 824–5305; 

email: Peter.Hood@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reef 

fish fishery of the Gulf of Mexico is 

managed under the FMP. The FMP was 

prepared by the Council and is 

implemented through regulations at 50 

CFR part 622 under the authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

Background 

A proposed rule for Amendment 32 

was published on November 2, 2011 (76 

FR 67656) with the comment period 

ending December 2, 2011. That 

proposed rule included measures to 

adjust the commercial gag quota and 

recreational annual catch target (ACT) 

for 2012 through 2015 and subsequent 

fishing years, consistent with the gag 

rebuilding plan established in 

Amendment 32; adjust the shallowwater grouper quota; adjust the 

commercial and recreational sector’s 

annual catch limits (ACLs) for gag and 

red grouper; adjust the commercial ACL 

for SWG; establish a formula-based 

method for setting gag and red grouper 

multi-use allocation for the grouper/ 

tilefish individual fishing quota 

program in the Gulf of Mexico; set the 

recreational gag fishing season from July 

1 through October 31; reduce the gag 

commercial size limit to 22 inches (59 

cm) total length (TL); and modify the 

gag and red grouper accountability 

measures (AMs). 

During the comment period for that 

proposed rule, NMFS identified an 

inconsistency in the codified text 

regarding the AMs for gag and red 

grouper. In § 622.49, paragraph 

(a)(4)(ii)(C), the codified text for gag 

recreational AMs states that, ‘‘if gag 

recreational landings, as estimated by 

the SRD, exceed the applicable ACL 

specified in paragraph (a)(4)(ii)(D), and 

gag are overfished, based on the most 

recent status of U.S. Fisheries Report to 

Congress, the AA will file a notification 

with the Office of the Federal Register, 

at or near the beginning of the following 

fishing year to reduce the ACL for that 

following year by the amount of the 

overage in the prior fishing year, unless 

the best scientific information available 

determines that a greater, lesser, or no 

overage adjustment is necessary.’’ 

However, in § 622.49, paragraph 

(a)(4)(ii)(B), the codified text states that, 

‘‘Without regard to overfished status, 

and in addition to the measures 

specified in paragraph (a)(4)(ii)(A), if 

gag recreational landings, as estimated 

by the SRD, exceed the applicable ACLs 

specified in paragraph (a)(4)(ii)(D), the 

AA will file a notification with the 

Office of the Federal Register to 

maintain the gag target catch level, 

specified in paragraph (a)(4)(ii)(D), for 

that following fishing year at the level 

of the prior year’s target catch, unless 

the best scientific information available 

determines that maintaining the prior 

year’s target catch is unnecessary.’’ The 

codified text for red grouper recreational 

AMs in § 622.49, paragraphs (a)(5)(ii)(C) 

and (B) is identical to the gag codified 

text. Therefore, if gag or red grouper are 

overfished and recreational landings 

exceed the ACL and an overage 

adjustment is made to the ACL the 

following year, the ACL could actually 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS