[Coral-List] NOAA FISHERIES SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON CARIBBEAN CORAL STATUS
Jennifer Moore
Jennifer.Moore at noaa.gov
Thu Dec 9 09:05:22 EST 2004
Jennifer Moore
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Protected Resources Division December
9, 2004
(727) 570-5312 SERNR04-053 NR04-053
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov
NOAA FISHERIES SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON CARIBBEAN CORAL
STATUS
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is
conducting a status review of three Caribbean acroporids (elkhorn coral,
staghorn coral, and fused-staghorn coral). To maximize public
involvement in the status review and to ensure that NMFS receives the
best available scientific and commercial data for its listing
determination, NMFS will hold two public meetings to seek input on the
following specific issues:
(1) Historical and current distribution and abundance of these three
acroporids throughout the Gulf of Mexico, tropical portions of the
Atlantic Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea specifically in the Bahamas
(particularly southern), Nicaragua, Pedro Banks, northern Cuba, Virgin
Gorda, Antigua, banks off of Turks and Caicos, Saba Banks, Trinidad and
Tobago, and eastern Caribbean;
(2) historic and current condition;
(3) population status and trends;
(4) information on any current or planned activities that may
adversely impact the three corals, especially related to the five
listing factors identified below;
(5) ongoing efforts to protect the three acroporids and their habitat;
(6) areas that may qualify as critical habitat; and
(7) approaches and criteria that could be used to assess listing
potential of these acroporids as either threatened or endangered (e.g.,
viability assessments, extinction risk, etc.).
NOAA Fisheries will accept this input at the meetings and during a
comment period that will end January 4, 2004.
NOAA Fisheries is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce
and is charged with protecting marine, estuarine, and anadromous species
listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NOAA Fisheries conducts
status reviews when it receives a petition that includes substantial
information that indicates an ESA listing may be warranted. According
to ESA listing criteria, a species may be listed if it is determined to
be threatened or endangered for any one of the following reasons:
· Present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of
habitat or range;
· over-utilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes;
· disease or predation;
· inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms;
· other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence.
The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned NOAA
Fisheries on March 4, 2004 to list elkhorn, staghorn and fused-staghorn
coral as threatened or endangered throughout their known range, and to
designate critical habitat under the ESA. In June 2004, NOAA Fisheries
found that the petition presented substantial information indicating
that the petitioned action may be warranted and solicited information
about the three acroporids. These public meetings are being held to
maximize public involvement in the status review and to ensure that NOAA
Fisheries receives the best available commercial and scientific data for
its listing determination.
You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
· E-mail: Acropora.Info at noaa.gov.
· Fax: 727-570-5517, Attention Ms. Jennifer Moore.
· Mail: Comments on paper, disk, or CD-ROM should be addressed
to the
Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources
NMFS Southeast Regional Office
9721 Executive Center Drive North, Suite 102
St. Petersburg, Florida 33702
· At the following meetings:
Tuesday, December 14, 2004, Key Colony Beach, FL, 2:00-3:00 pm
Key Colony Beach City Hall, 600 West Ocean Drive, Key Colony
Beach (Marathon), FL; 305-289-1212
Wednesday, December 15, 2004, Dania Beach, FL, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, 400 Gulf Stream Way, Dolfin
Room, Dania Beach, FL; 954-342-8333
NOAA Fisheries is dedicated to protecting and preserving the
nation's living marine resources and their habitats through scientific
research, management, and enforcement. NOAA Fisheries provides
effective stewardship of these resources for the benefit of the nation,
supporting coastal communities that depend upon them, and helping to
provide safe and healthy seafood to customers and recreational
opportunities for the American public.
NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national
safety through the prediction and research of weather and
climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our
nation's coastal and marine resources.
On the Web:
NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov
NOAA Fisheries: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov
NOAA Fisheries Southeast Region: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov
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