On Wednesday, May 10th, from 4:00-7:00 p.m. in the Petersburg Borough Assembly Chambers NMFS is holding public hearing on the proposed rule to list sunflower sea stars as ‘threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act.
- The ESA defines a threatened species as likely to become endangered in all or a portion of its range within the foreseeable future.
- Defines endangered as any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
Implications
- An ESA listing would mean NMFS will assume primary management authority for the species, with potential consequences for Alaska’s economy such as possible restrictions on state-managed fisheries. Any fishery with bycatch of sunflower sea stars could be impacted. This includes pots, nets, trawls, and, hook-and-line.
- 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 implement 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. This would add regulatory hurdles and could include efforts to protect sunflower sea star prey.