Post by conrad on Feb 17, 2010 9:39:59 GMT -5
U.S. Considers Endangered Species Protection for 82 Stony Coral Species
By CORAL Editors
A move to place more than 80 species of stony corals on the Endangered Species list appears to be gaining traction with the U.S. federal government. A petition from an Arizona-based environmental group calls for protection of 8 Caribbean and Western Atlantic species, 9 corals in the Hawaiian Islands, and 66 species from the Indo-Pacific.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Department of Commerce have opened a 90-day finding period seeking to hear “scientific and commercial information” on whether a long list of stony coral species would be given protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The 83 species included in the original petition range from four species of Acanthastrea, 22 species of Acropora, 3 species of Euphyllia, 8 species of Montipora, and 4 species of Turbinaria. Among the corals on the list are such commonly kept aquarium species as Euphyllia parancora, Galaxea astreata, Pavona cactus, Turbinaria reniformis, and many species of Acropora.
The move was initiated by the Center for Biological Diversity, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, a non-profit dedicated to conservation. The Center claims the petition, originally submitted October 20, 2009, was ignored until they threatened to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The announcement that the group’s petition had been accepted came February 10. Of the 83 original coral species, 82 were found to have significant enough evidence of compromise to justify further status reviews. The Fisheries Service ruled that there was not enough evidence to consider a listing for the Western Atlantic Ivory Tree Coral, Oculina varicosa, but that the others warranted further consideration.
“This is a call to action,” said Marshall Meyers, CEO of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) in Washington. “There may be some species that do need protection, but to list all of these corals demands serious science-based, credible studies demonstrating that each of these species is endangered.”
If listed, the corals would be banned from collection in U.S. waters, banned from import into the United States; interstate shipment would become illegal. Captive propagation would require a federal permit, and corals could only be bought and sold within states. “Effectively, this would end the international trade in stony corals to the United States,” Meyers said in an exclusive interview with CORAL Magazine.
“I think many people have been taken by surprise and don’t yet know the implications. In addition to the marine aquarium hobby, this could impact anyone who comes near a coral reef in U.S. waters, including boaters, fishermen, divers, and tour operators. Using the Endangered Species Act in this way is part of a crusade, the breadth of which we have never seen before.”
Once a species is listed as endangered, sanctions are levied against anyone who “takes” a specimen. “Taking” is defined as “harassing, harming, pursuing, hunting, shooting, wounding, killing, trapping, capturing, collecting, or any attempt to do these things to a member of the endangered species.” The petitioners believe that they can use the Endangered Species Act to bring legal action against entities emitting CO2 and to force the government to establish marine protected areas.
“The status review is an important step forward in protecting coral reefs, which scientists have warned may be the first worldwide ecosystem to collapse due to global warming,” says Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity, based in San Francisco. “Endangered Species Act protection can provide a safety net for corals on the brink of extinction.”
The group says it has "255,000 members and online activists," and in its tax filing for 2008 showed total revenues of more than $9 million. Among its current campaigns are efforts to save sea turtles, Beluga Whales, ancient Redwood Trees, and the Okinawa Dugong. Other activities of CBD include the distribution of 100,000 free “condoms for endangered species,” in hopes that human population growth will be slowed. Handed out across the country on Valentine's Day, the slogan on one of the six different condom packets reads: “Wrap with care, save the polar bear.”
Coral biologists have started to dissect the group’s petition, and John Bruno, Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina, writing on the Australian based blog, ClimateShifts.org, took particular note of the assertions of loss of coral cover in many areas that the petition uses to justify protecting stony corals. Bruno himself did some of the studies cited by the petitioners.
“Now this, as they say here in Oz, is some dodgy science.... Given what we have have seen happening in the media recently, e.g., the IPCC reports, scientists should be really careful about the accuracy of their gloom-and-doom stories.”
Some observers believe that, should this petition be approved, it could pave the way to a wholesale listing of all or most stony corals and coral reef fishes under the Endangered Species Act.
Meyers asks that anyone in the CORAL audience who can help provide an informed response to the petition contact PIJAC. The deadline for responding to the National Marine Fisheries Service is April 12, 2010.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information, or to weigh in with your expertise, see the following:
Center for Biological Diversity (The Petitioners)
The Finding (National Marine Fisheries Service) and The List of Corals
Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) (Who Will Offer Expert Testimony and Information)
Climate Shifts.org (Coral biologist John Bruno, PhD, starts to dissect the science cited in the petition.)
National Marine Fisheries Service Sets Deadline for Public and Expert Input on Petition to List 82 Stony Coral Species Under the Endangered Species Act.
From the Federal Register (Vol. 75, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 10, 2010)
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Notice of 90–Day Finding on a Petition to List 83 Species of Corals as Threatened or Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: 90–day petition finding; request for information.
SUMMARY: We (NMFS) announce a 90– day finding on a petition to list 83 species of corals as threatened or endangered under the ESA. We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted for 82 species; we find that the petition fails to present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted for Oculina varicosa. Therefore, we initiate status reviews of 82 species of corals to determine if listing under the ESA is warranted. To ensure these status reviews are comprehensive, we solicit scientific and commercial information regarding these coral species.
DATES: Information and comments must be submitted to NMFS by April 12, 2010.
The 83 species included in the petition are: Acanthastrea brevis, Acanthastrea hemprichii, Acanthastrea ishigakiensis, Acanthastrea regularis, Acropora aculeus, Acropora acuminate, Acropora aspera, Acropora dendrum, Acropora donei, Acropora globiceps, Acropora horrida, Acropora jacquelineae, Acropora listeri, Acropora lokani, Acropora microclados, Acropora palmerae, Acropora paniculata, Acropora pharaonis, Acropora polystoma, Acropora retusa, Acropora rudis, Acropora speciosa, Acropora striata, Acropora tenella, Acropora vaughani, Acropora verweyi, Agaricia lamarcki, Alveopora allingi, Alveopora fenestrate, Alveopora verrilliana, Anacropora puertogalerae, Anacropora spinosa, Astreopora cucullata, Barabattoia laddi, Caulastrea echinulata, Cyphastrea agassizi, Cyphastrea ocellina, Dendrogyra cylindrus, Dichocoenia stokesii, Euphyllia cristata, Euphyllia paraancora (ed: sic), Euphyllia paradivisa, Galaxea astreata, Heliopora coerulea, Isopora crateriformis, Isopora cuneata, Leptoseris incrustans, Leptoseris yabei, Millepora foveolata, Millepora tuberosa, Montastraea annularis, Montastraea faveolata, Montastraea franksi, Montipora angulata, Montipora australiensis, Montipora calcarea, Montipora caliculata, Montipora dilatata, Montipora flabellata, Montipora lobulata, Montipora patula, Mycetophyllia ferox, Oculina varicosa, Pachyseris rugosa, Pavona bipartite, Pavona cactus, Pavona decussate, Pavona diffluens, Pavona venosa, Pectinia alcicornis, Physogyra lichtensteini, Pocillopora danae, Pocillopora elegans, Porites horizontalata, Porites napopora, Porites nigrescens, Porites pukoensis, Psammocora stellata, Seriatopora aculeata, Turbinaria mesenterina, Turbinaria peltata, Turbinaria reniformis, and Turbinaria stellula. Eight of the petitioned species are in the Caribbean and belong to the following families: Agaricidae (1); Faviidae (3); Meandrinidae (2); Mussidae (1); Oculinidae (1).
The petition states that all of these species are classified as vulnerable (76 species), endangered (six species: Acropora rudis, Anacropora spinosa, Montipora dilatata, Montastraea annularis, M. faveolata, Millepora tuberosa), or critically endangered (one species: Porites pukoensis) by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Montipora dilatata and Oculina varicosa are also on our Species of Concern list.
See a summary article on corals as endangered species in the EoE here.
Article by, CORAL® Magazine Staff Report: Eli Nadeau, James Lawrence
By CORAL Editors
A move to place more than 80 species of stony corals on the Endangered Species list appears to be gaining traction with the U.S. federal government. A petition from an Arizona-based environmental group calls for protection of 8 Caribbean and Western Atlantic species, 9 corals in the Hawaiian Islands, and 66 species from the Indo-Pacific.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Department of Commerce have opened a 90-day finding period seeking to hear “scientific and commercial information” on whether a long list of stony coral species would be given protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The 83 species included in the original petition range from four species of Acanthastrea, 22 species of Acropora, 3 species of Euphyllia, 8 species of Montipora, and 4 species of Turbinaria. Among the corals on the list are such commonly kept aquarium species as Euphyllia parancora, Galaxea astreata, Pavona cactus, Turbinaria reniformis, and many species of Acropora.
The move was initiated by the Center for Biological Diversity, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, a non-profit dedicated to conservation. The Center claims the petition, originally submitted October 20, 2009, was ignored until they threatened to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The announcement that the group’s petition had been accepted came February 10. Of the 83 original coral species, 82 were found to have significant enough evidence of compromise to justify further status reviews. The Fisheries Service ruled that there was not enough evidence to consider a listing for the Western Atlantic Ivory Tree Coral, Oculina varicosa, but that the others warranted further consideration.
“This is a call to action,” said Marshall Meyers, CEO of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) in Washington. “There may be some species that do need protection, but to list all of these corals demands serious science-based, credible studies demonstrating that each of these species is endangered.”
If listed, the corals would be banned from collection in U.S. waters, banned from import into the United States; interstate shipment would become illegal. Captive propagation would require a federal permit, and corals could only be bought and sold within states. “Effectively, this would end the international trade in stony corals to the United States,” Meyers said in an exclusive interview with CORAL Magazine.
“I think many people have been taken by surprise and don’t yet know the implications. In addition to the marine aquarium hobby, this could impact anyone who comes near a coral reef in U.S. waters, including boaters, fishermen, divers, and tour operators. Using the Endangered Species Act in this way is part of a crusade, the breadth of which we have never seen before.”
Once a species is listed as endangered, sanctions are levied against anyone who “takes” a specimen. “Taking” is defined as “harassing, harming, pursuing, hunting, shooting, wounding, killing, trapping, capturing, collecting, or any attempt to do these things to a member of the endangered species.” The petitioners believe that they can use the Endangered Species Act to bring legal action against entities emitting CO2 and to force the government to establish marine protected areas.
“The status review is an important step forward in protecting coral reefs, which scientists have warned may be the first worldwide ecosystem to collapse due to global warming,” says Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity, based in San Francisco. “Endangered Species Act protection can provide a safety net for corals on the brink of extinction.”
The group says it has "255,000 members and online activists," and in its tax filing for 2008 showed total revenues of more than $9 million. Among its current campaigns are efforts to save sea turtles, Beluga Whales, ancient Redwood Trees, and the Okinawa Dugong. Other activities of CBD include the distribution of 100,000 free “condoms for endangered species,” in hopes that human population growth will be slowed. Handed out across the country on Valentine's Day, the slogan on one of the six different condom packets reads: “Wrap with care, save the polar bear.”
Coral biologists have started to dissect the group’s petition, and John Bruno, Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina, writing on the Australian based blog, ClimateShifts.org, took particular note of the assertions of loss of coral cover in many areas that the petition uses to justify protecting stony corals. Bruno himself did some of the studies cited by the petitioners.
“Now this, as they say here in Oz, is some dodgy science.... Given what we have have seen happening in the media recently, e.g., the IPCC reports, scientists should be really careful about the accuracy of their gloom-and-doom stories.”
Some observers believe that, should this petition be approved, it could pave the way to a wholesale listing of all or most stony corals and coral reef fishes under the Endangered Species Act.
Meyers asks that anyone in the CORAL audience who can help provide an informed response to the petition contact PIJAC. The deadline for responding to the National Marine Fisheries Service is April 12, 2010.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information, or to weigh in with your expertise, see the following:
Center for Biological Diversity (The Petitioners)
The Finding (National Marine Fisheries Service) and The List of Corals
Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) (Who Will Offer Expert Testimony and Information)
Climate Shifts.org (Coral biologist John Bruno, PhD, starts to dissect the science cited in the petition.)
National Marine Fisheries Service Sets Deadline for Public and Expert Input on Petition to List 82 Stony Coral Species Under the Endangered Species Act.
From the Federal Register (Vol. 75, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 10, 2010)
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Notice of 90–Day Finding on a Petition to List 83 Species of Corals as Threatened or Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: 90–day petition finding; request for information.
SUMMARY: We (NMFS) announce a 90– day finding on a petition to list 83 species of corals as threatened or endangered under the ESA. We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted for 82 species; we find that the petition fails to present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted for Oculina varicosa. Therefore, we initiate status reviews of 82 species of corals to determine if listing under the ESA is warranted. To ensure these status reviews are comprehensive, we solicit scientific and commercial information regarding these coral species.
DATES: Information and comments must be submitted to NMFS by April 12, 2010.
The 83 species included in the petition are: Acanthastrea brevis, Acanthastrea hemprichii, Acanthastrea ishigakiensis, Acanthastrea regularis, Acropora aculeus, Acropora acuminate, Acropora aspera, Acropora dendrum, Acropora donei, Acropora globiceps, Acropora horrida, Acropora jacquelineae, Acropora listeri, Acropora lokani, Acropora microclados, Acropora palmerae, Acropora paniculata, Acropora pharaonis, Acropora polystoma, Acropora retusa, Acropora rudis, Acropora speciosa, Acropora striata, Acropora tenella, Acropora vaughani, Acropora verweyi, Agaricia lamarcki, Alveopora allingi, Alveopora fenestrate, Alveopora verrilliana, Anacropora puertogalerae, Anacropora spinosa, Astreopora cucullata, Barabattoia laddi, Caulastrea echinulata, Cyphastrea agassizi, Cyphastrea ocellina, Dendrogyra cylindrus, Dichocoenia stokesii, Euphyllia cristata, Euphyllia paraancora (ed: sic), Euphyllia paradivisa, Galaxea astreata, Heliopora coerulea, Isopora crateriformis, Isopora cuneata, Leptoseris incrustans, Leptoseris yabei, Millepora foveolata, Millepora tuberosa, Montastraea annularis, Montastraea faveolata, Montastraea franksi, Montipora angulata, Montipora australiensis, Montipora calcarea, Montipora caliculata, Montipora dilatata, Montipora flabellata, Montipora lobulata, Montipora patula, Mycetophyllia ferox, Oculina varicosa, Pachyseris rugosa, Pavona bipartite, Pavona cactus, Pavona decussate, Pavona diffluens, Pavona venosa, Pectinia alcicornis, Physogyra lichtensteini, Pocillopora danae, Pocillopora elegans, Porites horizontalata, Porites napopora, Porites nigrescens, Porites pukoensis, Psammocora stellata, Seriatopora aculeata, Turbinaria mesenterina, Turbinaria peltata, Turbinaria reniformis, and Turbinaria stellula. Eight of the petitioned species are in the Caribbean and belong to the following families: Agaricidae (1); Faviidae (3); Meandrinidae (2); Mussidae (1); Oculinidae (1).
The petition states that all of these species are classified as vulnerable (76 species), endangered (six species: Acropora rudis, Anacropora spinosa, Montipora dilatata, Montastraea annularis, M. faveolata, Millepora tuberosa), or critically endangered (one species: Porites pukoensis) by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Montipora dilatata and Oculina varicosa are also on our Species of Concern list.
See a summary article on corals as endangered species in the EoE here.
Article by, CORAL® Magazine Staff Report: Eli Nadeau, James Lawrence
