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DOI/FWS RIN: 1018-AW27 Publication ID: Fall 2010 
Title: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing the Shovelnose Sturgeon as Threatened Due to Similarity of Appearance  
Abstract: We will make a final determination on our proposal to list the shovelnose sturgeon as threatened under the Act due to similarity of appearance. The shovelnose sturgeon and the endangered pallid sturgeon can be difficult to differentiate in the wild and inhabit overlapping portions of the Missouri and Mississippi River basins. Five States where the two species coexist allow for commercial fishing of shovelnose sturgeon and their roe (eggs often sold as caviar). Because of the close resemblance in appearance between the shovelnose and pallid sturgeon, fishermen, State regulators, and law enforcement personnel have substantial difficulty in differentiating between the two species. This has resulted in the documented take of pallid sturgeon and their roe. The determination of threatened status for shovelnose sturgeon due to similarity of appearance will substantially facilitate law enforcement actions to protect pallid sturgeon. A special rule will define activities that would and would not constitute take of shovelnose sturgeon under section 9 of the Act. 
Agency: Department of the Interior(DOI)  Priority: Substantive, Nonsignificant 
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Completed Actions 
Major: No  Unfunded Mandates: No 
CFR Citation: 50 CFR 17   
Legal Authority: 16 USC 1531 et seq   
Legal Deadline:  None
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
NPRM  09/22/2009  74 FR 48215   
NPRM Comment Period End  11/23/2009    
NPRM Comment Period Reopening  01/14/2010  75 FR 2102   
NPRM Comment Period End  02/04/2010    
Final Action  09/01/2010  75 FR 53598   
Final Action Effective  10/01/2010    
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No  Government Levels Affected: None 
Federalism: No 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No 
Agency Contact:
Don R. Morgan
Chief, Branch of Delisting and Foreign Species, Ecological Services
Department of the Interior
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
ARLSQ-420, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: ES,
Falls Church, VA 22041-3808
Phone:703 358-2444
Fax:703 358-1735
Email: don_morgan@fws.gov