Wednesday, May 10th from 4:00-7:00 p.m. the National Marine Fisheries Service will be holding a listening session in the Petersburg Borough Assembly Chambers regarding their proposed listing of the sunflower seastar (Pycnopodia helianthoides) as ‘threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act.
An additional listening session will be held in Kodiak Tuesday, May 2nd from 4:00-7:00 p.m. at the Western Kodiak Inn Harbor Room.
NMFS’s final decision could remain unchanged from the proposal to list the species as “threatened,” but a listing as “endangered” is possible, depending on the information the agency receives during the review.
Although bycatch in fisheries is a minor threat to the species, intentional and “incidental take”—unintentional catch, harm, or harassment of a species while engaging in otherwise lawful activities such as fishing or building marine infrastructure—may be prohibited under the ESA. NMFS did not propose any restrictions on intentional or incidental take in the proposed rule. However, the agency is requesting comments on that topic and could still consider implementing restrictions as part of the final listing decision. If NMFS were to change course and list the species as endangered, then all of the take restrictions in the ESA would be required.
An ESA listing also generally requires designation of “critical habitat” for the species. Although NMFS’s position in the proposed rule is that critical habitat for the sunflower sea star is currently “indeterminable,” the agency is seeking information on that topic and could later propose critical habitat. Designation of critical habitat would add regulatory hurdles and could include efforts to protect sunflower sea star prey.