[Coral-List] Critical Habitat for Threatened Corals Finalized
Sarah Heberling
Sarah.Heberling at noaa.gov
Wed Nov 26 08:44:06 EST 2008
Greetings, and apologies for any cross-postings --
NOAA's Fisheries Service announces the publication of the final critical
habitat designations for elkhorn /(Acropora palmata)/ and staghorn /(A.
cervicornis)/ corals in the /Federal Register/ today. This rulemaking
is mandatory under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The four areas
designated as critical habitat for threatened corals are: (1) Florida
area; (2) Puerto Rico area; (3) St. Thomas/St. John area; and (4) St.
Croix area. The critical habitat for threatened corals includes water
depths up to 98 feet. Within these areas, the feature essential to the
conservation of threatened corals is natural consolidated hard substrate
or dead coral skeleton that is free from fleshy and turf macroalgae
cover and sediment cover to maximize the potential for successful
recruitment and population growth. The effective date for this
rulemaking is December 26, 2008.
To download a copy of the FR notice, the economic analysis, or
Frequently Asked Questions, please visit our website at:
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/esa/acropora.htm. If you would like a copy
of any of these documents emailed, mailed, or faxed to you, please
contact me with your request (see contact information below). Please
also contact me if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Sarah
--
Sarah E. Heberling
NOAA Fisheries Service
Phone: (727) 824-5312
Fax: (727) 824-5309
Email: Sarah.Heberling at noaa.gov
Web: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/esa/acropora.htm
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