WildEarth Guardians

Thursday, July 7, 2016
Feds Sued for Failure to Protect Imperiled Marine Species

Fisheries Service Long Overdue on Legally Required Endangered Species Act Determinations
Contact: Taylor Jones, (720) 443-2615, tjones@wildearthguardians.org

Washington, DC—Yesterday WildEarth Guardians filed suit against the National Marine Fisheries Service (Fisheries Service) for failing to make timely Endangered Species Act (ESA) determinations for five imperiled marine species.

“Rare species including the Caribbean electric ray and porbeagle shark continue to decline while awaiting protections from the Fisheries Service,” said Taylor Jones, endangered species advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “We’re asking the agency to take action and ensure these rare species are on the road to recovery.”

The Fisheries Service is overdue on making decisions, commonly referred to as 12-month findings, on whether five marine species—the Caribbean electric ray, porbeagle shark, Hector’s dolphin, common guitarfish, and blackchin guitarfish—are warranted for ESA protections. These determinations are legally required under the ESA in response to petitions submitted by WildEarth Guardians.

Guardians petitioned for listing of the Caribbean electric ray and porbeagle shark in 2010, and submitted a petition to list 81 marine species and subpopulations—including Hector’s dolphin, common guitarfish, and blackchin guitarfish—in July of 2013, due to the significant threats to our oceans. Each of the species received initial 90-day positive findings.

“Time is of the essence for these imperiled species; they need immediate protections,” said Sarah McMillan, senior attorney for WildEarth Guardians. “Unfortunately, the Fisheries Service continues to drag its feet, further increasing the species’ extinction risk and ignoring the ESA’s generous but firm timelines for decisions, by years in some cases.”

An estimated 50-80 percent of all life on earth is found in the oceans. More than half of 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 2,200 species protected under the Act, only approximately 6 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.”

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 both protect the species domestically and help focus U.S. resources toward enforcement of international regulation and recovery of the species.

Read the complaint here.

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Caribbean electric ray (Narcine bancroftii). True to its name, the Caribbean electric ray produces 14 to 37 volts of electricity: not enough to harm a human, but enough to stun prey or shock predators. Populations have declined by up to 98 percent in the Northern Gulf of Mexico since 1972. These small, slow-swimming rays are caught accidentally in fisheries targeting other species, primarily shrimp.

Porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus). The Northwest Atlantic population of porbeagle sharks declined 90 percent since 1961 due to heavy fishing pressure. Shark meat is highly valued and they are also fished for their fins, hides, and livers. In September 2014, the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) listed porbeagle sharks under Appendix II, which puts increased restrictions on international trade in exploited species.

Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori). Hector’s dolphin is endemic to New Zealand, with the second most limited range of any cetacean. These rare dolphins are found in shallow coastal waters, almost always within eight miles of shore and at depths of fewer than 300 feet. Accidental entanglement in fishing nets and gear is the most serious threat to the dolphins. Boat strikes, disease, and pollution may also contribute to the extinction risk of this small population, which numbers approximately 7,400.

Common guitarfish (Rhinobatos rhinobatos). This species is found in the Atlantic from the southern Bay of Biscay southward to Angola, and in the southern and eastern waters of the Mediterranean. The common guitarfish is threatened by fishing and habitat degradation in its nursery grounds.

Blackchin guitarfish (Rhinobatos cemiculus). Blackchin guitarfish are found 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.