NOAA Fisheries Service Considers Listing Eastern Oyster as Threatened or Endangered NOAA Fisheries Service will review the status of eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) along the Atlantic and Gulf coast to determine if the species warrants protection under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). NOAA Fisheries Service received a petition in January 2005 to list the eastern oyster as threatened or endangered under the ESA. The agency has decided to appoint a status review team to compile the available information and evaluate the status of the species. Results of the full status review are expected in January 2006; NOAA Fisheries Service will study these findings carefully to determine if listing is warranted. The eastern oyster lives in North American estuaries, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Yucatan Peninsula. Oyster reefs are a dominant feature of many eastern U.S. coastal estuaries. In addition to supporting fisheries, oysters and the reefs they construct provide shelter and habitat for many other estuarine organisms, improve water quality and reduce erosion. Oysters can tolerate wide variations in the environment, but preliminary data suggest that their numbers have declined significantly, possibly due to both harvest and disease. NOAA Fisheries Service is asking for documented information for use in the status review, such as descriptions of current or past distribution, abundance, population condition, information on the existence of subspecies, and details on restoration and protection efforts. NOAA Fisheries Service is also accepting the names of recognized experts that could participate in a peer review of the status review. Public comments on this announcement will be accepted through July 17, 2005. For more information, contact
NOAA Fisheries Service Considers Listing Eastern Oyster as Threatened or Endangered
NOAA Fisheries Service will review the status of eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) along the Atlantic and Gulf coast to determine if the species warrants protection under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). NOAA Fisheries Service received a petition in January 2005 to list the eastern oyster as threatened or endangered under the ESA. The agency has decided to appoint a status review team to compile the available information and evaluate the status of the species. Results of the full status review are expected in January 2006; NOAA Fisheries Service will study these findings carefully to determine if listing is warranted.
The eastern oyster lives in North American estuaries, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Yucatan Peninsula. Oyster reefs are a dominant feature of many eastern U.S. coastal estuaries. In addition to supporting fisheries, oysters and the reefs they construct provide shelter and habitat for many other estuarine organisms, improve water quality and reduce erosion. Oysters can tolerate wide variations in the environment, but preliminary data suggest that their numbers have declined significantly, possibly due to both harvest and disease.
NOAA Fisheries Service is asking for documented information for use in the status review, such as descriptions of current or past distribution, abundance, population condition, information on the existence of subspecies, and details on restoration and protection efforts. NOAA Fisheries Service is also accepting the names of recognized experts that could participate in a peer review of the status review. Public comments on this announcement will be accepted through July 17, 2005.
For more information, contact
Ma***********@no**.gov.