Despite the fact that the populations of the thorny skate have declined in the last few years, the federal government agencies have ruled that the species will not be added to the Endangered Species list, at least not yet.
The ruling came in opposition with the assessments made by a number of environmental groups which believed that the recent population loss of the thorny skate in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, was just significant enough so that it warrants the protection of the Endangered Species Act.
Unfortunately, the US National Marine Fisheries Service disagreed with the assessment made by conservation groups, who were hoping to see the implementation of a marine protection habitat for the bottom-dwelling species of fish.
The Federal Register published documents on Friday, which reveal that the federal agency concluded that the thorny skate species is currently not in any danger of extinction in all or a significant portion of its habitat range. The agency also reports that the species will not become endangered anytime soon, while at the same time it agreed with reports from environmental groups showing the decline of the fish’s population.
The National Marine Fisheries Service’s report states the population of the species is just five percent lower than what it was in when it reached its recorded peak back in the 1970s, as they thorny skate still remains quite numerous in a large part of their habitat range, located between Greenland and South Carolina, with hundreds of millions of specimens.
The petition to add the thorny skate to the Endangered Species list was started by the Animal Welfare Institute and Defenders of Wildlife, which sought to implement new fishing restrictions and habitat protection for the species.
The call to protect the species, especially those living in the Gulf of Maine, which is a commercial fishing area, has been met with resistance from a number of fishing groups. While the thorny skate has been protected for being harvested commercially since 2003, it is being caught as bycatch in other fisheries, which mostly capture cod and other types of skates.
What do you think about the federal agency’s conclusion about the population of the fish species?
Image source: NOAA
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