Wildlife Agencies to Initiate Status Review of the American Eel

“During the review, a comment period will serve as an invitation to provide biological information so we will have all the best available scientific information on which to base decisions,” the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northeast Regional Director Marvin Moriarty said.

The American eel lives from Greenland south along the North American coast to Brazil in South America. In the United States it lives inland to the Great Lakes and in the Mississippi River drainage.

Today’s decision, commonly known as a 90-Day Finding, is based on scientific information about the species provided in the petition requesting listing of the species under the Act. The finding is published in today’s Federal Register. The finding on the petition does not mean that the Services have decided it is appropriate to list the American eel. Rather, this finding is the first step in a long process that triggers a more thorough review of all the biological information available. This process, which includes a request for input from the public, should be completed within 12 months of receiving the petition. This status review will determine whether the American eel warrants protection.

To ensure this status review is comprehensive, the Services are soliciting information from State and Federal natural resource agencies, tribes, other countries, and interested parties regarding the American eel.

Based on the status review, the Services jointly will decide if listing is warranted. If listing is not warranted, no further action will be taken.

If listing is warranted, one of the Services will publish a proposal to list, solicit independent scientific peer review of the proposal, seek input from the public, and consider the input before a final decision is made about listing the species. Generally, there is a one-year period between the time a species is proposed and the final decision.

The only freshwater eel in the Western hemisphere, American eels begin their lives in the mid-Atlantic Sargasso Sea. About a year later, they migrate to freshwater rivers and lakes and coastal areas where they live for seven to 30 years. At maturity, eels return to the Sargasso Sea to spawn and die. Because the eel spends a portion of its life in the marine environment and a portion of its life in freshwater, it falls under the responsibilities of both agencies, so they work together on the issue.

Douglas Harold Watts of Augusta, Maine, and Timothy Allan Watts of South Middleborough, Mass., petitioned the two Services to extend ESA protection to the American eel. Prior to receiving the petition, the Services had already agreed to review the American eel status at the request of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (representing 15 states from Maine to Florida) in light of an apparent decline in commercial eel harvest.

For more information about the American eel and this finding, please visit the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Web site at http://northeast.fws.gov/ameel/.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation’s living marine resources and their habitat through scientific research, management and enforcement. NOAA Fisheries Service provides effective stewardship of these resources for the

benefit of the nation, supporting coastal communities that depend upon them, and helping to provide safe and healthy seafood to consumers and recreational opportunities for the American public.

Wildlife Agencies to Initiate Status Review of the American Eel

“During the review, a comment period will serve as an invitation to provide biological information so we will have all the best available scientific information on which to base decisions,” the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northeast Regional Director Marvin Moriarty said.

The American eel lives from Greenland south along the North American coast to Brazil in South America. In the United States it lives inland to the Great Lakes and in the Mississippi River drainage.

Today’s decision, commonly known as a 90-Day Finding, is based on scientific information about the species provided in the petition requesting listing of the species under the Act. The finding is published in today’s Federal Register. The finding on the petition does not mean that the Services have decided it is appropriate to list the American eel. Rather, this finding is the first step in a long process that triggers a more thorough review of all the biological information available. This process, which includes a request for input from the public, should be completed within 12 months of receiving the petition. This status review will determine whether the American eel warrants protection.

To ensure this status review is comprehensive, the Services are soliciting information from State and Federal natural resource agencies, tribes, other countries, and interested parties regarding the American eel.

Based on the status review, the Services jointly will decide if listing is warranted. If listing is not warranted, no further action will be taken.

If listing is warranted, one of the Services will publish a proposal to list, solicit independent scientific peer review of the proposal, seek input from the public, and consider the input before a final decision is made about listing the species. Generally, there is a one-year period between the time a species is proposed and the final decision.

The only freshwater eel in the Western hemisphere, American eels begin their lives in the mid-Atlantic Sargasso Sea. About a year later, they migrate to freshwater rivers and lakes and coastal areas where they live for seven to 30 years. At maturity, eels return to the Sargasso Sea to spawn and die. Because the eel spends a portion of its life in the marine environment and a portion of its life in freshwater, it falls under the responsibilities of both agencies, so they work together on the issue.

Douglas Harold Watts of Augusta, Maine, and Timothy Allan Watts of South Middleborough, Mass., petitioned the two Services to extend ESA protection to the American eel. Prior to receiving the petition, the Services had already agreed to review the American eel status at the request of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (representing 15 states from Maine to Florida) in light of an apparent decline in commercial eel harvest.

For more information about the American eel and this finding, please visit the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Web site at http://northeast.fws.gov/ameel/.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation’s living marine resources and their habitat through scientific research, management and enforcement. NOAA Fisheries Service provides effective stewardship of these resources for the

benefit of the nation, supporting coastal communities that depend upon them, and helping to provide safe and healthy seafood to consumers and recreational opportunities for the American public.