WildEarth Guardians

Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Guitarfish Protected Under the Endangered Species Act

Two Species of Imperiled Fish Are Endangered by Human Exploitation
Contact: Taylor Jones, (720) 443-2615, tjones@wildearthguardians.org

Washington, DC—Today, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced it is protecting two species of guitarfish under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), listing them as “threatened” in response to a petition filed by WildEarth Guardians in 2013.

“Receiving Endangered Species Act protections is great news for these guitarfish,” said Taylor Jones, endangered species advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “Protecting our oceans’ imperiled species is more important than ever given that 2016 broke the heat record for the third year in a row; as the inauguration approaches, the Trump administration must accept climate science and start protecting imperiled species for the sake of our planet.”

Blackchin guitarfish (Rhinobatos cemiculus) live in marine and brackish waters from the northern coast of Portugal to Angola, and throughout coastal Mediterranean waters. Substantial fishing pressure has already led to population declines and extirpation from some areas. Existing regulations do not protect the species. Common guitarfish (Rhinobatos rhinobatos) live in the Atlantic from the southern Bay of Biscay southward to Angola, and in the southern and eastern waters of the Mediterranean. They are threatened by fishing and habitat degradation in their nursery grounds.

“Our oceans are suffering because of relentless human exploitation,” said Jones. “Protecting these declining species is an important step in taking responsibility for the failing health of marine ecosystems.”

WildEarth Guardians submitted a petition to list 81 marine species and subpopulations—including the guitarfish—under the ESA in July of 2013 due to significant threats to our oceans. More than half of all marine species may be at risk of extinction by 2100 without significant conservation efforts. Despite this grave situation, the U.S. largely fails to protect marine species under the ESA. Of the over 2,000 species protected under the Act, only about six percent are marine species.

Recognizing the decline of ocean health, on July 22, 2010, President Obama issued an Executive Order requiring agencies, including the Fisheries Service, to “protect, maintain, and restore the health and biological diversity of ocean… ecosystems,” and to “use the best available science and knowledge to inform decisions affecting the ocean.” The guitarfish listing is a step in the right direction toward living up to that mandate.

Protection under the ESA is an effective safety net for imperiled species: more than 99 percent of plants and animals protected by the law exist today. The law is especially important as a defense against the current extinction crisis; species are disappearing at a rate much higher than the natural rate of extinction due to human activities. Scientists estimate that 227 species would have gone extinct by 2006 if not for ESA protections. Listing species with global distributions can protect them from trade and help focus U.S. resources toward enforcement of international regulations and recovery of the species.