Today the National Marine Fisheries Service published their 90-day finding
on a petition to list 23 coral species under the Endangered Species Act. The
23 corals are part of a wider set of 81 marine species the agency was
petitioned to list in July 2013. The finding determined that the available
information presents substantial scientific or commercial data or
information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted for
three species (*Cantharellus noumeae, Siderastrea glynni*, and *Tubastraea
floreana*). We will initiate a status review of these species and we seek
information from interested parties and the public on the status, threats,
and conservation of these species. The public comment period opened today
and ends 24 December 2013. A 12-month finding on whether or not to propose
ESA listing for one or more of these three species is the next step in the
process.
We also determined that the petition did not present substantial
information indicating the petitioned actions may be warranted for the
remaining 20 species. These 20 species are: *Acropora roseni, Acropora
suharsonoi, Alveopora excelsa, Alveopora minuta, Ctenella chagius,
Hydnophora bonsai, Isopora togianensis, Lithophyllon ranjithi, Lobophyllia
serratus, Millepora boschmai, Millepora striata, Montipora setosa,
Parasimplastrea sheppardi, Pectinia maxima, Pocillopora fungiformis,
Porites desilveri, Porites eridani, Porites ornata, Rhizopsammia
wellingtoni, *and *Stylophora madagascarensis*. This ends the review
process for these 20 species.
The 90-day finding, petition, link to the online public comment site, and
other information are all available at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/petition81.htm
best regards
Dwayne
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dwayne Meadows, Ph.D.
Species of Concern National Program Coordinator
Endangered Species Division
Office of Protected Resources (F/PR3)
National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(301) 427-8467
FAX: (301) 713-4060
Dwayne.Meadows@noaa.gov
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/concern/