Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 61015 

Therefore, we are initiating a status 

review to determine if listing the species 

is warranted. To ensure that the status 

review is comprehensive, we are 

soliciting scientific and commercial 

information regarding the least chub. 

It is important to note that the 

‘‘substantial information’’ standard for a 

90-day finding is in contrast to the Act’s 

‘‘best scientific and commercial data’’ 

standard that applies to a 12-month 

finding as to whether a petitioned action 

is warranted. A 90-day finding is not a 

status assessment of the species and 

does not constitute a status review 

under the Act. Our final determination 

as to whether a petitioned action is 

warranted is not made until we have 

completed a thorough status review of 

the species, which is conducted 

following a positive 90-day finding. 

Because the Act’s standards for 90-day 

and 12-month findings are different, as 

described above, a positive 90-day 

finding does not mean that the 12- 

month finding also will be positive. 

We encourage interested parties to 

continue gathering data that will assist 

with the conservation and monitoring of 

the least chub. The petitioners requested 

that critical habitat be designated for 

this species. If we determine in our 12- 

month finding that listing the least chub 

is warranted, we will address the 

designation of critical habitat at the time 

of the proposed rulemaking. 

References Cited 

A complete list of all references cited 

in this document is available upon 

request from the Utah Ecological 

Services Field Office (see the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section). 

Author 

The primary authors of this document 

are staff of the Utah Ecological Services 

Field Office (see the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section). 

Authority 

The authority for this action is section 

4 of the Endangered Species Act of 

1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

seq.). 

Dated: October 7, 2008. 

Paul R. Schmidt, 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–24467 Filed 10–14–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

RIN 0648–AV61 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Spiny 

Lobster (Panulirus argus) Resources 

of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and 

South Atlantic; Minimum Conservation 

Standards for Imported Spiny Lobster 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Announcement of availability of 

fishery management plan amendments; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 

availability of Amendment 4 to the 

Spiny Lobster Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) of Puerto Rico and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands and Amendment 8 to the 

Joint Spiny Lobster FMP of the Gulf of 

Mexico and South Atlantic prepared by 

the Caribbean, South Atlantic, and Gulf 

of Mexico Fishery Management 

Councils (Councils). Amendments 4 and 

8 would establish minimum 

conservation standards for imported 

spiny lobster. The intended effect of 

Amendments 4 and 8 is to eliminate the 

primary market for lobster that do not 

meet the minimum size limit or mean 

size at sexual maturity, which is 

expected to result in a reduction in the 

foreign harvest of these undersized 

animals and increase the spawning 

stock biomass and long-term potential 

yield within the pan-Caribbean spiny 

lobster fishery. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received no later than 5 p.m., eastern 

time, on December 15, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• E-mail: 0648–AV61.NOA@noaa.gov. 

Include in the subject line the following 

document identifier: 0648–AV61–NOA. 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Jason Rueter, Southeast 

Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

• Fax: 727–824–5308, Attention: 

Jason Rueter. 

Copies of Amendments 4 and 8, 

which include an Environmental Impact 

Statement, a Regulatory Impact Review 

(RIR), and an Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis are available from 

NMFS Southeast Regional Office, 263 

13th Avenue South, St Petersburg, FL 

33701; e-mail: jason.rueter@noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jason Rueter, 727–824–5305; fax 727– 

824–5308; e-mail: 

jason.rueter@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

United States is a major importer of 

spiny lobster, importing over 88,000 

tons (over 194 million lbs) over the past 

10 years, worth an estimated $2.27 

billion dollars. The United States 

imports over 90 percent of the spiny 

lobster harvested in South and Central 

America and the Caribbean countries. 

Some of the exporting countries have 

minimum size limits, but other 

countries do not. As a result, some of 

the imported product is legally 

harvested, but the majority of the 

undersized product is illegally 

harvested in the exporting countries. 

The major exporters to the United States 

are the Bahamas, Brazil, Honduras, and 

Nicaragua. All of these exporting 

countries have some form of minimum 

size requirement, but the requirements 

are variable and enforcement is severely 

lacking. Therefore, NOAA Fisheries 

Service in coordination with the 

Caribbean, South Atlantic, and Gulf of 

Mexico Fishery Management Councils is 

considering minimum conservation 

standards on imports to curtail the flow 

of imported undersized lobster 

harvested in foreign countries. The panCaribbean spiny lobster stock is 

considered to be fully exploited or overexploited in much of its range. 

Therefore, additional restrictions on the 

harvest of animals below the mean size 

at sexual maturity (i.e., undersized 

animals) would greatly benefit the stock. 

Eliminating the primary market for 

undersized lobster is expected to result 

in a reduction in the foreign harvest of 

undersized animals and increase the 

spawning stock biomass and long-term 

potential yield within the panCaribbean spiny lobster fishery. 

A proposed rule that would 

implement the measures outlined in 

Amendments 4 and 8 has been received 

from the Councils. In accordance with 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(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 December 15, 

2008 whether specifically directed to 

the Amendments 4 and 8 or the 


erowe on PROD1PC64 with PROPOSALS-1
61016 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

proposed rule, will be considered by 

NMFS in its decision to approve, 

disapprove, or partially approve the 

amendments. Comments received after 

that date will not be considered by 

NMFS in this decision. All comments 

received by NMFS on the amendments 

or the proposed rule during their 

respective comment periods will be 

addressed in the final rule. 

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

Dated: October 9, 2008. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–24484 Filed 10–14–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


erowe on PROD1PC64 with PROPOSALS-1