Tag Archives: WildEarth Guardians
Pacific Bluefin Tuna Heads Toward Protection
Thirteen conservation groups and a former National Fisheries biologist petitioned for federal protection for Pacific bluefin tuna, and the marine agency agreed listing may be warranted. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced Tuesday that it will begin a 12-month status review of the iconic fish as the first step in the long process to secure Endangered Species Act protection for the overfished species. The Center for Biological Diversity, a frequent petitioner and litigator on behalf of imperiled species, was joined by Earthjustice, Defenders of Wildlife, WildEarth Guardians, Sierra Club, Turtle Island Restoration Network, the Ocean Foundation, Center for Food Safety, Greenpeace, Mission Blue, Recirculating Farms Coalition, The Safina Center, SandyHook SeaLife Foundation, and Jim Chambers, a retired NMFS biologist, owner of Prime Seafood sustainable seafood restaurant supply company and member of the Seafood Choices Alliance. Read the rest here 08:42
Another Crackpot ENGO, Another ESA Lawsuit against the NMFS
Defenders of fish with funny names — including the blackchin guitar fish, the violin fish and porbeagle shark — sued the federal government Wednesday, demanding the fish be listed as threatened or endangered. WildEarth Guardians says the Secretary of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Fisheries Service missed their 12-month deadline to rule under the Endangered Species Act. All five species — including the Caribbean electric ray and Hector’s dolphin — are “at significant risk of extinction,” the Montana-based conservation group says. Listing could protect the species from recreational and commercial fishing and development. The Endangered Species Act requires the defendant agencies to issue findings within 90-day and 12-month timeframes in most cases. But the National Marine Fisheries Service has “regularly ignored these statutory procedures and have consistently missed statutory listing deadlines,” WildEarth Guardians says. Read the rest here 14:10
Hammerheads classified as protected
The National Marine Fisheries Service on Thursday classified as endangered and threatened four distinct populations of hammerhead sharks. The new classification responds to a petition filed by the environmental groups WildEarth Guardians and Friends of Animals. Read more here 16:16
Big Green’s ‘sue-and-settle’ strategy draws pushback from states, Congress
Scott Pruitt is Oklahoma’s attorney general and he’s fed up with Big Green’s outrageously destructive sue-and-settle attacks using endangered species as a weapon to obliterate America’s burgeoning oil and gas production. (OUR INDUSTRY?) Read more here washingtonexaminer 11:25
The End of the U.S. Shrimping Industry – Execution by Electrocution? Public comments end 3/31/14
In 2010, WildEarth Guardians petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list the lesser electric ray (also commonly called the Caribbean electric ray) under the ESA, but that petition was denied in a 90-day finding in March 2011. If the lesser electric ray is listed under the ESA, it could mean the end of shrimp fishing as we know it throughout the ray’s range, which includes all the Gulf states, as well as states along the east coast from Florida to North Carolina. Read more here thegoodcatchblog 23:17
Hammerhead shark protection debated – National Marine Fisheries Service pushed by WildEarth Guardians and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
A proposal to protect the great hammerhead shark has sparked a debate over whether federal protection is necessary to conserve a majestic ocean predator or whether this would just impose an unnecessary burden on the fishing industry. continued@sunsentinal
Enviro’s Slam NMFS – declined to protect great white sharks off the coast of California under the Endangered Species Act.
Last August, Oceana, the Center for Biological Diversity, Shark Stewards, and WildEarth Guardians petitioned the federal government for federal endangered species protection for the apex predator’s genetically distinct Northeastern Pacific
population, found off California and Guadalupe Island, Mexico. continued@lakecountynews
NOAA’s Fisheries Service Seeks Comments on Proposal to List Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks under Endangered Species Act
WASHINGTON, April 4 — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued the following news release: NOAA’s Fisheries Service, in response to a petition submitted by the WildEarth Guardians and Friends of Animals is proposing to list four populations of scalloped hammerhead sharks under the Endangered Species Act, two as threatened and two as endangered. continued
