[Coral-List] Proposed Rule to Change the Status of Pillar Coral under the US Endangered Species Act

[Alison Moulding]

NOAA Fisheries is proposing to change the status of pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) from threatened to endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Section 3 of the ESA defines an endangered species as “any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range” and a threatened species as one “which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.” NOAA Fisheries may reclassify a species if the best available commercial and scientific data indicate the species no longer meets the applicable definition in the ESA. NOAA Fisheries has determined that pillar coral meets the definition of an endangered species and has published a proposed rule to change the status of pillar coral from threatened to endangered.


Pillar coral was listed as threatened in 2014 because of its susceptibility to multiple threats, including ocean warming, ocean acidification, disease, nutrient enrichment, sedimentation, trophic effects of fishing, and inadequate regulatory mechanisms to address global threats. Since then, pillar coral has experienced substantial population decline, primarily due to its high susceptibility to stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), which has emerged as a devastating and deadly new disease, and prompted a proposed change from threatened to endangered status under the ESA.


The proposed rule is accessible at:

 https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2023-17769/endangered-and-threatened-species-proposed-reclassification-of-pillar-coral-dendrogyra-cylindrus.


We are accepting public comments for the proposed rule for 60 days through October 30, 2023. We will hold a virtual public meeting on this proposed rule on September 26, 2023. Information about the meeting and how to register is available at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/pillar-coral#conservation-management.