Will the first Corals be protected by the Endangered Species Act
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BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
Citizen Staff
http://keysnews.com/336223345933684.bsp.htm
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries announced
late Thursday that the agency is proposing listing staghorn, elkhorn
and fused staghorn coral species as threatened under the Endangered
Species Act.
This would be the first listing of any coral species as threatened or
endangered under the law, which is aimed a saving plants and animals
from extinction.
The agency, which sets rules for fisheries management, proposed the
endangered listing in a Federal Register notice, responding to a
petition from the Center for Biological Diversity. NOAA Fisheries will
publish a proposed rule to list the two species as threatened in a
subsequent Federal Register notice. The agency will take public comment
and, if requested, hold public hearings, said Stephania Bolden, a NOAA
Fisheries biologist.
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Superintendent Billy Causey said
he is confident that some of those public meetings will be held in the
Florida Keys.
Such a listing could have serious ramifications for the Keys and the
scientists who use Keys reefs as laboratories. The threatened listing
could impact how the two species of coral are collected and who could
collect samples.
An estimated 90 percent of the staghorn and elkhorn colonies in the
Keys have been wiped out since the 1970s, and 80 percent of colonies
throughout the Caribbean have been lost, sanctuary officials said.
Despite decreasing elkhorn and staghorn populations, there are millions
of colonies throughout the Caribbean, and some scientists say the
listing might be premature. Elkhorn and staghorn are some of the
fastest growing types of coral, marine biologists say. They cite both
natural and manmade causes for coral die-off: an increase in the number
of documented coral diseases, and damage at the hands of novice divers,
fishermen and hurricanes.
The primary cause of coral die-off is disease, not habitat degradation,
which the Endangered Species Act is designed to protect, said Steven
Miller, a scientist with the University of North Carolina in
Wilmington, who has been studying coral since the 1970s.
"I believe that this is policy advancement based on weak or bad
science," Miller said of the proposal to place the coral on the list.
"I also think this is an example of wasteful government spending. Why?
Because a huge amount of time and effort have gone into planning by
NOAA to make today's recommendation. It's also wasteful because
additional costs will go into administering the consequences of such
listing instead of supporting work that might help explain or improve
our understanding of factors affecting the distribution and abundance
and recovery occurring at many locations throughout the region of the
species."
The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition with
the federal government a year ago to place the three species of coral
on the list. The group filed the petition to have the current
presidential administration acknowledge global warming. Coral bleaching
has been linked to elevated sea surface temperatures and exposure to
ultraviolet light, especially when the seas are calm or in places where
water circulation is poor.
"This is a great day for science, conservation and the great state of
Florida," said Brent Plater of the Center for Biological Diversity and
lead author of the request to protect the corals. "Now we can begin the
fun part: Working hard to bring these corals back from the brink of
extinction with the Endangered Species Act, the world's most effective
safety net for fish and wildlife."
The status review for the proposal was conducted by a team of
scientists from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, United
States Geological Survey, National Park Service and several other
agencies.
To read the entire status review on the Internet go to
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/protres.htm.