82 Stony Corals Endangered?

Endangered_stony_corals_captive_aquatics

So, it seems that a piece of legislation currently under consideration by NOAA would add 82 species of corals to the endangered species list. This is getting a lot of buzz around the hobby, websites, mostly of the knee-jerk "Oh my god this will kill our ~~profits~~ hobby!" type (ie. Coral Magazine's site, where this proposition is laughed at, yet conservation efforts are recommended only one post below!), a fear that's not only unfounded, but interfering with the protection of these species.

As I've stated before, our hobby is changing. Change is inevitable, as we all know, but rarely choose to accept. Our hobby (just like our everyday life) is in the beginning stages of being forced into a more sustainable version of itself.

Because the hobby's consumers have never cared (or cared enough) about the sustainability of the hobby, speaking with the voice that matters (money) didn't work, and now Congress is forced to apply the reigns via legislation. Is it a bad thing to add 82 stony coral species to the endangered species list (even if, as naysayers complain, they haven't been "proven to be endangered - yet)? I would say, emphatically: "absolutely not".

Scientific literature has shown multiple times that in areas where wild stocks of marine organisms are collected for the hobby are there is a statistically significant decrease in the population of those species collected. Are we really going to require exhaustive studies and proof (at the cost of millions to taxpayers) before we'll stop squabbling and take basic preventative steps?

As hobbyists, we (supposedly) have a deep respect for the marine ecosystem and the animals for which we care. Waiting for the species we enjoy so much to become endangered, and waiting again for a several-year-long scientific study to be performed to "prove" that the specie(s) is/are endangered (by which time, they may be virtually extinct from the collection area) before we agree to place them under appropriate protection is a course of action I find to be incredibly hypocritical. I will always be a proponent of protection, even if my business encounters financial difficulty because of it! I started this hobby out of a love and fascination for marine organisms, not to treat living animals as a collectible game of "I have (insert-"name"-of-zoanthid-or-popular-"ULTRA-RARE-LPS-here) this and you don't!".

The time when we could import whatever we wanted with impunity is coming to an end, and I think we all need to begin to behave as though it already were.

Comments sharing your thoughts are encouraged!

National Marine Fisheries Service Sets Deadline for Public and Expert Input on Petition to List 82 Stony Coral Species Under the Endangered Species Act.

From the Federal Register (Vol. 75, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 10, 2010)

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Notice of 90–Day Finding on a Petition to List 83 Species of Corals as Threatened or Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION: 90–day petition finding; request for information.

SUMMARY: We (NMFS) announce a 90– day finding on a petition to list 83 species of corals as threatened or endangered under the ESA. We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted for 82 species; we find that the petition fails to present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted for Oculina varicosa. Therefore, we initiate status reviews of 82 species of corals to determine if listing under the ESA is warranted. To ensure these status reviews are comprehensive, we solicit scientific and commercial information regarding these coral species.

DATES: Information and comments must be submitted to NMFS by April 12, 2010.

The 83 species included in the petition are: Acanthastrea brevis, Acanthastrea hemprichii, Acanthastrea ishigakiensis, Acanthastrea regularis, Acropora aculeus, Acropora acuminate, Acropora aspera, Acropora dendrum, Acropora donei, Acropora globiceps, Acropora horrida, Acropora jacquelineae, Acropora listeri, Acropora lokani, Acropora microclados, Acropora palmerae, Acropora paniculata, Acropora pharaonis, Acropora polystoma, Acropora retusa, Acropora rudis, Acropora speciosa, Acropora striata, Acropora tenella, Acropora vaughani, Acropora verweyi, Agaricia lamarcki, Alveopora allingi, Alveopora fenestrate, Alveopora verrilliana, Anacropora puertogalerae, Anacropora spinosa, Astreopora cucullata, Barabattoia laddi, Caulastrea echinulata, Cyphastrea agassizi, Cyphastrea ocellina, Dendrogyra cylindrus, Dichocoenia stokesii, Euphyllia cristata, Euphyllia paraancora (ed: sic), Euphyllia paradivisa, Galaxea astreata, Heliopora coerulea, Isopora crateriformis, Isopora cuneata, Leptoseris incrustans, Leptoseris yabei, Millepora foveolata, Millepora tuberosa, Montastraea annularis, Montastraea faveolata, Montastraea franksi, Montipora angulata, Montipora australiensis, Montipora calcarea, Montipora caliculata, Montipora dilatata, Montipora flabellata, Montipora lobulata, Montipora patula, Mycetophyllia ferox, Oculina varicosa, Pachyseris rugosa, Pavona bipartite, Pavona cactus, Pavona decussate, Pavona diffluens, Pavona venosa, Pectinia alcicornis, Physogyra lichtensteini, Pocillopora danae, Pocillopora elegans, Porites horizontalata, Porites napopora, Porites nigrescens, Porites pukoensis, Psammocora stellata, Seriatopora aculeata, Turbinaria mesenterina, Turbinaria peltata, Turbinaria reniformis, and Turbinaria stellula. Eight of the petitioned species are in the Caribbean and belong to the following families: Agaricidae (1); Faviidae (3); Meandrinidae (2); Mussidae (1); Oculinidae (1).

The petition states that all of these species are classified as vulnerable (76 species), endangered (six species: Acropora rudis, Anacropora spinosa, Montipora dilatata, Montastraea annularis, M. faveolata, Millepora tuberosa), or critically endangered (one species: Porites pukoensis) by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Montipora dilatata and Oculina varicosa are also on our Species of Concern list.

Image credit NOAA

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