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DOC/NOAA | RIN: 0648-AY54 | Publication ID: Spring 2010 |
Title: ●Designation of Critical Habitat for the North Atlantic Right Whale | |
Abstract: In June 1970, the Northern right whale was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Conservation Act, the precursor to the Endangered Species Act (ESA)(35 FR 8495; codified at 50 CFR 17.11). Subsequently, right whales were listed as endangered under the ESA in 1973, and as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) the same year. In 1994, NMFS designated critical habitat for the Northern right whale, a single species thought at the time to include right whales in both the North Atlantic and the North Pacific. In 2006, NMFS published a comprehensive right whale status review that concluded that recent genetic data provided unequivocal support to distinguish three right whale lineages (including the southern right whale) as separate phylogenetic species (Rosenbaum et al. 2000). Rosenbaum et al. (2000) concluded that the right whale should be regarded as the following three separate species: (1) The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) ranging in the North Atlantic Ocean; (2) the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica), ranging in the North Pacific Ocean and (3) the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), historically ranging throughout the southern hemisphere's oceans. Based on these findings, NMFS published a proposed and final determination listing right whales in the North Atlantic and North Pacific as separate endangered species under the ESA (71 FR 77704, December 27, 2006; 73 FR 12024, March 6, 2008). Based on the new listing determination, NMFS is required by the ESA to designate critical habitat separately for both the North Atlantic right whale and the North Pacific right whale. In April 2008, a final critical habitat determination was published for the North Pacific right whale (73 FR 19000, April 8, 2008). At this time, NMFS is preparing a proposal to designate critical habitat for the North Atlantic right whale. | |
Agency: Department of Commerce(DOC) | Priority: Other Significant |
RIN Status: First time published in the Unified Agenda | Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Proposed Rule Stage |
Major: No | Unfunded Mandates: No |
CFR Citation: 50 CFR 226 50 CFR 229 | |
Legal Authority: 16 USC 1361 et seq 16 USC 1531 to 1543 |
Legal Deadline:
None |
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Timetable:
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Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No | Government Levels Affected: None |
Small Entities Affected: No | Federalism: No |
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No | |
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No | |
Agency Contact: Marta Nammack Office of Protected Resources Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone:301 713-1401 Fax:301 427-2523 Email: marta.nammack@noaa.gov |