February 1, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries has released the Recovering Threatened and Endangered Species Report to Congress. It summarizes efforts to recover all transnational and domestic species under NOAA Fisheries’ jurisdiction from October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2020.This report summarizes the status of each species that has or will have a recovery plan, the status of the recovery plan, and the completion date for the last 5-year review.
With this report, NOAA Fisheries is updating progress made on its strategic approach to endangered species recovery. This approach focuses agency resources on species for which immediate, targeted efforts can be taken to stabilize their populations and prevent extinction.
The report highlights recovery progress for nine species identified in the Species in the Spotlight initiative. These species need focused intervention to stabilize their populations and prevent their extinction.
During the 2 years covered in this report, we managed 99 domestic (includes some transnational) species, including:
- Salmon
- Sturgeon
- Sawfish
- Sharks
- Rays
- Seagrass
- Mollusks
- Sea turtles
- Corals
- Marine mammals
We also managed 66 foreign species. In this report, we address 99 transnational and domestic species for which a recovery plan has or will be developed. That included one newly-listed species, Rice’s Whale (Balaenoptera ricei). It was originally listed as endangered on April 15, 2019 as Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni, unnamed subspecies). On August 23, 2021, we issued a direct final rule to revise the listing to reflect the scientifically accepted taxonomy and nomenclature of the species.
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