WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) September 16, 2011- The National Marine Fisheries Service has announced it will not accept a proposed rule to upgrade the classification of loggerhead sea turtles from threatened to endangered.
The decision is a victory for the commercial fishing industry, and particularly for fishermen in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico who target sea scallops and shrimp.
"It means the industry is not facing the prospect of more stringent restrictions," said Andrew Minkiewicz, a lawyer who represents fishing industry advocacy group Fisheries Survival Fund. "There are millions of turtles out there."
Loggerheads were classified in 1978 as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
In 2007, a petition was filed with federal agencies to list North Atlantic loggerheads as endangered. The petition was supported by environmental groups.
In March 2010, after a biological review of the stocks, agencies under the Department of Commerce determined there are nine distinct stocks of loggerhead turtles. The agency proposed a rule that would upgrade North Atlantic loggerheads from a threatened to an endangered species.
Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) led a congressional effort to demonstrate to the agency that the proposed listing was unwarranted because the federal government’s own science suggests that the population of loggerhead turtles in waters off the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States is in the millions to tens of millions. The two members of Congress emphasized that because the Loggerhead turtle has been listed as “threatened” under the ESA for years, numerous fisheries restrictions have already been put in place that have greatly reduced harmful interactions between fishermen and turtles. These restrictions have played a significant role in the recovery of Loggerhead turtles, and will continue to be in place without an up-listing.
In addition, Jones and former Texas Congressman Solomon Ortiz, have pushed the agency to perform aerial surveys to determine the abundance of turtles actually in the water, and to use that information to supplement existing data on the number of turtle nests found on ocean beaches. That new aerial survey data was helpful in making the case that loggerhead turtles are not endangered.
“All of us are for protecting sea turtles, and everyone is happy to see that turtle populations are improving,” Congressman Jones said. “Fishermen have played a key role in that recovery, as they have been required to live under significant restrictions. The question was whether adding even more protection was necessary, and I’m glad the agency agreed that the science showed that it isn’t.”
Congressman Barney Frank said "I'm pleased that NOAA made this decision based on good science, and I look forward to continuing with Congressmen Jones and other Members of Congress in a bipartisan way."
The rule was opposed by the fishing industry and members of Congress, who claimed data showed loggerhead populations were not near collapse. They also said the change in status could result in more stringent fishing regulations for scallop and shrimp fishermen, who sometimes catch turtles unintentionally.
Congressional staff and industry observers said the rule could have resulted in fines, gear modification and restrictions on when and where fishermen can fish.
The industry said today's decision was based on sound science that was funded, in part, by fishing industry revenue.
Under law, a percent of revenue from scallop landings goes toward funding fisheries research, said Minkiewicz. He said the industry contributes about $14 million yearly.
Shaun Gehan, also a lawyer representing the Fisheries Survival Fund, said data showed turtle populations are growing.
"A population with animals in the millions, or tens of millions, is not a species that qualifies as endangered under the law," said Gehan. "We think this is the right decision."
Read the Fisheries Survival Fund letter in opposition to uplisting
January 2011 letter and June reply
In January 2011, fifteen members of Congress and the Senate wrote to then-Commerce Secretary Gary Locke asking questions about the proposed uplisting. In June, NMFS cheif Eric Schwaab responded.
Read the NMFS/FWS presentation on uplisting proposal
Starting on page 13 there is a discussion of the position of those in the agencies that do not believe an "up-listing" to be warranted. Key among these is that all data, including the aerial survey undertaken last year, indicates a population of loggerheads "in the millions to 10's of millions," and that there is no chance of extinction over the next hundred years, even assuming a declining population trend.
Barney Frank / Walter Jones letter in opposition to uplisting