Endangered Marine Finfish: Neglected Resources or Beasts of Fiction?

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Abstract
As of this writing, of 1,321 taxa listed on the U.S. federal listing of threatened or endangered organisms, only six have marine or estuarine phases in their life history. None of the six are wholly oceanic. Indecision as to the applicability of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to wholly oceanic species stems from at least two sources: (1) lack of consensus on population criteria designating special status, and (2) societal and scientific doubt as to whether wholly oceanic species can become endangered. A cursory examination of marine fishes of U.S. territorial waters by regional specialists suggests that at least 39 species are severely depleted and deserve closer examination of their population status to determine eligibility for protection under the ESA. Several regional groupings of the candidate species suggest ecosystem-wide impacts. Where fishing is suspected to be causing large-scale disruptions of fish abundance and fish community relationships, establishment of marine reserves might be ...

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