Species Being Considered for Amendments to the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; Supplemental Request for Information

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 23

Species Being Considered for Amendments to the Appendices to the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna

and Flora; Supplemental Request for Information

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of

Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates international trade in certain

animal and plant species, which are included in the appendices of this

treaty. The United States, as a Party to CITES, implements treaty

requirements for species included in the appendices and periodically

proposes amendments to the appendices as warranted for consideration by

the other Parties at biennial meetings of the Conference of the

Parties.

This notice invites comments and information from the public

relevant to (1) a proposed change in the United States interpretation

of the CITES listing of the urila sheep, Ovis vignei, based on a recent

decision of the CITES Nomenclature Committee; and (2) potential United

States co-sponsorship of a proposal for the Tenth Conference of the

Parties (COP10) to include all species of sturgeons (Acipenseriformes)

not presently included in the appendices in Appendix II.

DATES: The Service will consider all comments received by January 5,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Please send correspondence concerning this notice to Chief,

Office of Scientific Authority; 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 750;

Arlington, Virginia 22203. Fax number 703-358-2276. Comments and other

information received will be available for public inspection by

appointment, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, at the above

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Marshall A. Howe, Office of

Scientific Authority, at the above address, telephone 703-358-1708.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CITES regulates import, export, re-export,

and introduction from the sea of certain animal and plant species.

Species for which trade is controlled are included in one of three

appendices. Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction that

are or may be affected by international trade. Appendix II includes

species that, although not necessarily now threatened with extinction,

may become so unless the trade is strictly controlled. It also lists

species that must be subject to regulation in order that trade in other

currently or potentially threatened species may be brought under

effective control (e.g., because of difficulty in distinguishing

specimens of currently or potentially threatened species from those of

other species). Appendix III includes species that any Party country

identifies as being subject to regulation within its jurisdiction for

purposes of preventing or restricting exploitation, and for which it

needs the cooperation of other Parties to control trade.

In a March 1, 1996, Federal Register notice (61 FR 8019), the

Service requested public recommendations or draft proposals to amend

Appendix I or II that the Service might consider proposing on behalf of

the United States at COP10. That notice described information

requirements for proposals, based on new listing criteria adopted by

the Parties at COP9. After receiving and considering recommendations

and proposals received in response to that notice, the Service

announced, in an August 28, 1996, Federal Register notice (61 FR

44324), its preliminary decisions on which recommendations and

proposals it was still considering and requested addtional information

on those. The deadline for submission of proposals to the CITES

Secretariat for consideration at COP10 is January 10, 1997.

Reinterpretation of the Listing of the Urial, Ovis vignei

The urial of the central Asian steppes, a species of sheep popular

among sport trophy hunters, has been included in CITES Appendix I since

1975. Due to uncertainty about the taxonomic relationships among

populations of this and related sheep species, there has been confusion

among the Parties as to the precise taxonomic entity intended for

protection by the original listing. The history of this situation is

described in detail in a January 27, 1994, Federal Register notice (59

FR 3833). In conducting its own analysis, the Service earlier concluded

that the original listing applied only to certain populations (= O. v.

vignei) in India and Pakistan and that other populations were not

included in the appendices. Import of urials into the United States has

been guided by this interpretation of the CITES listing.

A working group of the CITES Animals and Nomenclature Committees,

in consultation with the IUCN Caprinae Specialist Group, studied this

problem and attempted a fresh assessment of the status of Ovis vignei

populations (based on the taxon described in the nomenclatural

reference for mammals now adopted by the Parties: ``Mammal Species of

the World,'' Second Edition, by Wilson and Reeder). On the basis of

this assessment, Germany prepared a draft Appendix I listing proposal,

which recommended that an Appendix I listing was appropriate for all

populations of the species. The Service participated in the working

group and, at the time of the August 28 Federal Register notice, was

considering the possibility of cosponsoring the proposal prepared by

Germany and solicited information from the public accordingly.

At the meeting of the CITES Animals Committee in Prague, Czech

Republic, in September, 1996, a meeting of the CITES Nomenclature

Committee considered the Ovis vignei issue. The Nomenclature Committee

concluded that the precise taxonomic entity intended for protection by

the original listing could not be determined with certainty. It was,

therefore, recommended that the current listing be interpreted as being

based upon the CITES-adopted taxonomic reference mentioned above,

resulting in the entire species being included in Appendix I. The

Animals Committee endorsed this interpretation. In light of this

recommendation, the draft proposal for listing in Appendix I became

redundant and Germany decided not to submit the proposal.

[[Page 67294]]

The Service believes the United States should accept this

recommendation of the CITES Nomenclature and Animals Committees and

proposes a corresponding change in its interpretation of the listing of

Ovis vignei in 50 CFR Part 23. This interpretation would become

effective 90 days after the conclusion of COP10, if the Parties adopt

the report of the Nomenclature Committee. Public comment on this

recommended position is solicited. Under the new interpretation, all

urial specimens would be considered to be on Appendix I, and imports

would be subject to the normal permitting requirements applicable to

species included in Appendix I.

Inclusion of Sturgeons in Appendix II

Sturgeons (order Acipenseriformes) are a primitive group of

approximately 25 species of fish, whose biological attributes make them

vulnerable to intensive fishing pressure or other causes of elevated

adult mortality. Many species of sturgeons, the primary source of

commercial caviar, have experienced severe population declines

worldwide because of both habitat destruction and overharvest for

international trade. Some are at serious risk of extinction. Two

species in the United States (the shortnosed sturgeon, Acipenser

brevirostrum, and pallid sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus albus) are listed as

endangered under the Endangered Species Act, while a third species (the

Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrhynchus desotoi) is listed as threatened.

CITES presently includes two species in Appendix I and one in Appendix

II. The closely related American paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, has

also been included in Appendix II since 1992.

Recently attention has been focussed on conservation problems in

the Caspian Sea, which is the source of more than 90 of the world

caviar trade and which produces the highest quality caviar. Since the

mid-1970's very marked declines in the populations of all six of the

Caspian Sea's sturgeon species have been noted, especially populations

of the most heavily exploited species: Beluga (Huso huso), Russian

(Acipenser gueldenstaedti), and stellate (A. stellatus) sturgeons. Five

of the six species are considered endangered by the ``1996 IUCN Red

List of Threatened Animals.'' The problem has become exacerbated in

recent years due to deteriorating fishery management and enforcement

capabilities in the region, resulting in harvests that far exceed

recommended quotas.

The Scientific Authority of Germany has prepared a detailed draft

proposal to include all species of sturgeons not presently included in

the appendices in Appendix II. This draft proposal was discussed in

November in Moscow at a meeting involving the Russian Federation and

several former Soviet Republics, including several that participate in

the Caspian Sea sturgeon fishery: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and

Turkmenistan. The meeting, hosted by the Russian Federation State

Committee for Environmental Protection and the German Scientific and

Management Authorities yielded an overwhelming acknowledgment of the

severity of the threat to sturgeon populations in the Caspian Sea. The

existence of a substantial illegal trade in caviar (estimated to

constitute up to 80 percent of the trade) that has resulted in a

decrease in both the quality and price of caviar in international

markets also was recognized.

The probable outcome of this meeting will be a joint proposal from

Germany and the Russian Federation to list all species of sturgeons,

except those already included in Appendix I, in Appendix II. Such a

listing will enable: (1) The implementation of management controls

necessary to stabilize sturgeon populations in the Caspian Sea and

elsewhere in the world; and (2) better regulation of the trade by

importing countries, especially through an improved capability for

distinguishing legal from illegal caviar. The Service believes that the

United States, as a range state for some of the most endangered

sturgeon populations and as a major importer of caviar products

(between 50 and 60 metric tons per year from 1992 through 1995), should

consider co-sponsoring this proposal if Germany and Russia decide to

advance it. The Service solicits public comment on this potential

action.

Future Actions

The Service will consider all comments received in writing during

the comment period in deciding whether the actions considered above are

appropriate. Proposals to amend the appendices must be submitted to the

CITES Secretariat by January 10, 1997, for consideration at COP10 in

Harare, Zimbabwe, June 1997. In February 1997, the Service will publish

a Federal Register notice announcing decisions on this and other

proposals being considered for amending the appendices under

consideration.

The primary authors of this notice are Dr. Marshall A. Howe, Office

of Scientific Authority and Dr. Rosemarie Gnam, Office of Management

Authority, under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973,

16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.

Dated: December 18, 1996.

Marshall P. Jones, Jr.,

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[FR Doc. 96-32533 Filed 12-19-96; 8:45 am]

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