NOAA Fisheries has determined that two foreign populations of a midsize shark often fished for its fins should be listed as threatened, while finding that U.S. populations do not require federal protections.
Despite long-term population declines of the tope sharks that live off the West Coast, researchers determined that they are not so depleted that they need to be protected under the Endangered Species Act, according to a Federal Register notice published Wednesday.
After a review, NOAA Fisheries proposed to list only subpopulations of the shark that live in waters along southwestern Africa and southwestern South America.
Under the ESA, animals or plants that face imminent risk of extinction are classified as “endangered,” while those that are headed for a wipeout in the “foreseeable future” are marked as “threatened.”
