Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Initial Finding on a Petition to Identify and Delist a Saint John River Distinct Population Segment of Shortnose Sturgeon Under the Endangered Species Act

We (NMFS) announce an initial finding on a petition to identify the Saint John River population of shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) as a distinct population segment (DPS) and delist this DPS from the Endangered Species Act. We have reviewed the petition, the references provided by the petitioner, and information readily available in our files, and we find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. Therefore, we will conduct a status review of the shortnose sturgeon to determine if the petitioned actions are warranted. To ensure that our review is comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial information pertaining to this petition from any interested party.