[Coral-List] Impact of listing 66 coral species on coral research

[Jennifer Moore - NOAA Federal]

Eli and All,
For those of you who do not know me, I am one of the NOAA Fisheries staff
leads on the proposed coral listings.  I understand that this proposal to
list the 66 species of corals in the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific basins
brings many questions and uncertainty, so let me reiterate some of the
points I identified in my message last week.

   1. This is a proposed rule, so nothing changes during the year between
   the proposed rule and the final rule.
   2. The majority (54) of the 66 species are being proposed as
   threatened.  Even if all of those species are ultimately listed, none of
   the ESA prohibitions apply unless we make a separate rule to extend the
   prohibitions.  Meaning research and restoration activities proceed as
   usual.
   3. For the species that are proposed as endangered - if they are
   ultimately listed, an ESA Research and Enhancement Permit will be required
   for anyone conducting research or restoration on the species that involves
   collection, harm, injury, or mortality within the waters US.  A permit will
   also be required for importation of legally-collected specimens from
   outside the US.

It is one of our top priorities to work with the research, restoration, and
permitting communities to ensure that this additional permitting process
does not impact activities that are critical to the recovery of listed
species. We will be investigating streamlining opportunities and other ways
to meet the goals of the ESA with minimal impact on activities that support
recovery. We also encourage anyone conducting research or restoration on a
proposed endangered species to contact the NOAA Fisheries Office of
Protected Resources to begin the permitting process during this period
between proposed and final listing.  General information on the permitting
process for research and enhancement is located at
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/faq_esapermits.htm

One last topic that I'd like to cover is the proposed reclassification of
Acropora palmata and Acropora cervicornis from threatened to endangered.
Everything I said above about proposed endangered species applies to the
two currently-listed acroporids.  If they are ultimately listed as
endangered, the existing "4(d) rule" that allowed exceptions for research
and restoration activities will no longer be applicable.  It is my priority
to ensure that the critical research and restoration activities that are
assisting recovery continue.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or one of my colleagues
in the NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Region - lance.smith at noaa.gov or
chelsey.young at noaa.gov


On Thu, Dec 6, 2012 at 2:20 PM, Eli Meyer <eli.meyer at science.oregonstate.edu
> wrote:

> Hi colleagues,
>
> Not to distract from the interesting discussion about the conservation
> value of this listing, but I'm curious about the impact of listing these 66
> species as threatened or endangered on coral research. Forgive the naive
> question, but I haven't worked on any other species during such a
> transition from not-listed to listed.
>
> I must confess, I had a sinking feeling when I spotted M. faveolata on this
> list, since this has become an attractive research model with lots of
> molecular resources emerging. I had high hopes for future work on this
> species, and now I wonder if I should be reconsidering. Will this listing
> make it more difficult to get collection permits? To transport live corals?
> To import samples from outside the US?
>
> Perhaps someone working on Caribbean Acroporids, or with a good general
> understanding of threatened listings and research permits, can clarify the
> likely impacts of this listing on research prospects. Thanks for any info!
>
> --
> Eli Meyer
> Assistant Professor
> Department of Zoology
> 3106 Cordley Hall
> Oregon State University
> Corvallis, OR 97331
> Cell: (310) 618-4483
> Office: (541) 737-3751
> Lab: (541) 737-3752
> --
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>



-- 

*Jennifer Moore
ESA Coral Coordinator | Protected Resources Division
NOAA Fisheries Service
263 13th Ave South
Saint Petersburg, FL 33701727-551-5797 phone | 727-824-5309
faxjennifer.moore at noaa.gov
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/esa/acropora.htm*

*http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/esa/82CoralSpecies.htm*
<http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/esa/82CoralSpecies.htm>*

To those who sacrificed careers of adventure in the wide-open spaces
to wrestle for conservation in the policy arena.*