[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 29, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19528-19530]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9823]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XO28


Listing Endangered and Threatened Species: Initiation of Status 
Review for the Oregon Coast Evolutionarily Significant Unit of Coho 
Salmon

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

ACTION: Initiation of status review and request for information.

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SUMMARY:  We, NMFS, initiate a status review under the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA) for the Oregon Coast coho

[[Page 19529]]

salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) evolutionarily significant unit (ESU). To 
ensure that the status review is complete and based upon the best 
available scientific and commercial information, we solicit information 
regarding the population structure, status and trends, and limiting 
factors and threats of this coho salmon ESU.

DATES: Information and comments on the subject action must be received 
by July 28, 2009.

ADDRESSES:  You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-XO28, by 
any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Fax: 503-230-5441.
    <bullet> Mail: Submit written comments and information to Chief, 
NMFS, Protected Resources Division, 1201 NE Lloyd Boulevard, Suite 
1100, Portland, OR 97232. You may hand-deliver written comments to our 
office during normal business hours at the street address given above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  For further information regarding 
this notice contact Garth Griffin, NMFS, Northwest Region, (503) 231-
2005; or Marta Nammack, NMFS, Office of Protected Resources, (301) 713-
1401.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In a Federal Register notice published February 11, 2008 (73 FR 
7816), we issued a final determination to list the Oregon Coast coho 
salmon ESU as a threatened species under the ESA, and also issued final 
protective regulations and designated critical habitat. The current 
listing of Oregon Coast coho salmon and associated protections will 
remain in place while we conduct this new review. If we determine that 
a change in listing status is warranted, such a finding would be 
proposed in a subsequent Federal Register notice, and public comment 
would be solicited. A thorough review of previous Federal ESA actions 
related to Oregon Coast coho salmon can be found in 73 FR 7816 through 
7817 (February 11, 2008).

ESA Statutory, Regulatory, and Policy Provisions

    To be considered for listing under the ESA, a group of organisms 
must constitute a ``species,'' which is defined in section 3 of the ESA 
to include ``any subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants, and any 
distinct population segment [DPS] of any species of vertebrate fish or 
wildlife which interbreeds when mature.'' NMFS treats ESUs of Pacific 
salmon as constituting a DPS, and hence a ``species'' under the ESA (56 
FR 58612; November 20, 1991). To qualify as an ESU, a Pacific salmon 
population must be substantially reproductively isolated from other 
conspecific populations and represent an important component in the 
evolutionary legacy of the biological species.
    The ESA defines an endangered species as one that is in danger of 
extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, and a 
threatened species as one that is likely to become endangered in the 
foreseeable future (sections 3(6) and 3(20), respectively). The statute 
requires us to determine whether any species is endangered or 
threatened because of any of five factors: the present or threatened 
destruction of its habitat, overexploitation, disease or predation, the 
inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms, or any other natural or 
manmade factors (section 4(a)(1)(A) (E)). We are to make this 
determination based solely on the best available scientific information 
after conducting a review of the status of the species and taking into 
account any efforts being made by states or foreign governments to 
protect the species. The focus of our evaluation of these five factors 
is to evaluate whether and to what extent a given factor represents a 
threat to the future survival of the species. The focus of our 
consideration of protective efforts is to evaluate whether these 
efforts substantially have and will continue to address the identified 
threats and so ameliorate a species' risk of extinction. In making our 
listing determination, we must consider all factors that may affect the 
future viability of the species, including whether regulatory and 
conservation programs are inadequate and allow threats to the species 
to persist or worsen, or whether these programs are likely to mitigate 
threats to the species and reduce its extinction risk. The steps we 
follow in implementing this statutory scheme are to: review the status 
of the species, analyze the factors listed in section 4(a)(1) of the 
ESA to identify threats facing the species, assess whether certain 
protective efforts mitigate these threats, and make our best prediction 
about the species' future persistence.
    The joint NMFS FWS Policy on Evaluating Conservation Efforts 
(``PECE'' 68 FR 15100; March 28, 2003) provides direction for 
considering protective efforts identified in conservation agreements, 
conservation plans, management plans, or similar documents (developed 
by Federal agencies, state and local governments, tribal governments, 
businesses, organizations, and individuals) that have not yet been 
implemented, or have been implemented but have not yet demonstrated 
effectiveness.

Distribution and Life History Coho Salmon

    Coho salmon (O. kisutch) are a widespread species of Pacific 
salmon, occurring in most major river basins around the Pacific Rim 
from Monterey Bay, California, north to Point Hope, Alaska, through the 
Aleutians, and from the Anadyr River south to Korea and northern 
Hokkaido, Japan (Laufle et al., 1986). From central British Columbia 
south, the majority of coho salmon adults are 3-year-olds, having spent 
approximately 18 months in fresh water and 18 months in salt water 
(Gilbert, 1912; Pritchard, 1940; Sandercock, 1991). The primary 
exceptions to this pattern are ``jacks,'' sexually mature males that 
return to freshwater to spawn after only 5-7 months in the ocean. 
However, in southeast and central Alaska, the majority of coho salmon 
adults are 4-year-olds, having spent an additional year in fresh water 
before going to sea (Godfrey et al., 1975; Crone and Bond, 1976). The 
transition zone between predominantly 3-year-old and 4-year-old adults 
occurs somewhere between central British Columbia and southeast Alaska.
    West Coast coho smolts typically leave freshwater in the spring 
(April to June) and re-enter freshwater when sexually mature from 
September to November, and spawn from November to December and 
occasionally into January (Sandercock, 1991). Stocks from British 
Columbia, Washington, and the Columbia River often have very early 
(entering rivers in July or August) or late (spawning into March) runs 
in addition to ``normally'' timed runs.

Information Solicited

ESU Structure and Extinction Risk

    To ensure that the updated status review is complete and based on 
the best available and most recent scientific and commercial data, we 
solicit information and comments (see DATES and ADDRESSES) concerning 
Oregon Coast coho salmon. We solicit pertinent information on the 
viability of naturally spawned and hatchery populations such as: data 
on population abundance, recruitment, productivity, escapement, and 
reproductive success (e.g., spawner-recruit or spawner-spawner 
survivorship, fecundity, smolt production estimates, and smolt-to-adult 
ocean survival rates); historical and present data on hatchery fish 
releases, outmigration, survivorship, returns, straying rates, 
replacement rates, and reproductive success in the wild; data on age 
structure and migration patterns of juveniles and adults; meristic, 
morphometric, and

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genetic studies; and information on harvest rates on hatchery and wild 
fish. Data since our last evaluation (2002) is particularly helpful.
    In the February 2008 listing determination for Oregon Coast coho 
(73 FR 7816), we noted that the principal inquiry in determining if 
this ESU warrants listing is whether present habitat conditions are 
sufficient to support a viable ESU, particularly during periods of 
unfavorable marine conditions and low marine survival, and whether 
future freshwater habitat conditions are expected to degrade. We 
concluded that the present and future status of freshwater habitat for 
the Oregon Coast coho ESU was uncertain. Accordingly, we also seek 
information on spatial or temporal trends in habitat accessibility, 
quality, and quantity of freshwater (including overwintering and 
rearing habitats) habitats within the boundaries of the Oregon Coast 
coho ESU.

Efforts Being Made to Protect Oregon Coast Coho Salmon

    We also encourage all parties to submit information on ongoing 
efforts to protect and conserve Oregon Coast coho salmon, as well as 
information on recently implemented or planned activities and their 
likely impact(s).

References

    Copies of the petition and related materials are available on the 
Internet at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov, or upon request (see ADDRESSES 
section above).

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

    Dated: April 23, 2009.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-9823 Filed 4-28-09; 8:45 am]
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