Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Whale Shark as Threatened or Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [Docket No. 130122061-3061-01] RIN 0648-XC463 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce. ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding. SUMMARY: We (NMFS) announce a 90-day finding on a petition to list the whale shark ( Rhincodon typus ) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We find that the petition does not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. ADDRESSES: Copies of the petition and related materials are available upon request from the Director, Office of Protected Resources, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or online at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/​pr/​species/​negative.htm . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Manning, Office of Protected Resources, 301-427-8466. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background On December 21, 2012, we received a petition from the WildEarth Guardians to list the whale shark ( Rhincodon typus ) as threatened or endangered under the ESA and to designate critical habitat under the ESA. Copies of this petition are available from us (see ADDRESSES ). Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the ESA of 1973, as amended (U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ), requires, to the maximum extent practicable, that within 90 days of receipt of a petition to list a species as threatened or endangered, the Secre…