[Coral-List] National marine Fisheries Service proposes listing 3 corals as endangerd

[Dwayne Meadows (NOAA Federal)]

Tomorrow, the National Marine Fisheries Service publishes a proposed 
rule to list 3 corals (/Cantharellus noumeae, Siderastrea glynni, 
/and/Tubastraea floreana/) as endangered under the Endangered Species 
Act.  This finding is part of a wider finding on a petition to list 81 
marine species.  Of that original 81 species there were 23 species of 
coral.  In our 90-day finding on the petition on 25 October 2013 we 
determined 20 of those 23 corals were not warranted for listing.  
Tomorrow's finding relates to the 3 remaining species.

The proposed listing of the three corals as endangered is consistent 
with our recent listing of 20 corals as Threatened under the ESA. The 
species being proposed tomorrow are found in fewer countries and 
ecoregions and are subject to additional species-specific threats in 
their small ranges.  Specifically, /Catharellus noumea/ occurs only in 
New Caledonia and possibly Papua new Guinea, /Siderastrea glynni/ occurs 
only in Panama where it currently only exists in captivity, and 
/Tubastraea floreana/ is now known from only one site in the Galapagos 
Islands.

As with all listing proposals, we seek information from interested 
parties and the public on the status, threats, and conservation of these 
species.  The public comment period will close on 17 February 2015.

Links to the petition, proposed rule (including the version that went on 
public inspection today), and status reviews can be found on our website at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/petition81.htm

Tomorrow the fully formatted version of the proposed rule and a link to 
the public comment site will also be accessible from the above web page.

Please submit any comments or information through that site.


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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 at noaa.gov
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/concern/
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