Fish

Against the Current: The Attempt to Keep Asian Carp Out of the Great Lakes

Summary:

In the man-made channels connecting the Mississippi, Illinois and Des Plaines Rivers to Lake Michigan lurk fish with the potential to dramatically and permanently alter the biomass of the Great Lakes. Asian carp have been found in the Chicago Area Waterway System, and the effort to keep this injurious species out of Lake Michigan has sparked a multi-state legal battle, resurrecting an 81-year old Supreme Court case and a new request that the System’s locks be closed. At stake is the $70 million shipping industry that relies on the locks, the $7 billion fishing industry that relies on the lakes and the invaluable ecosystem and natural resources that comprise world’s largest freshwater lake system.

The Price of Fame: CITES Regulation and Efforts Towards International Protection of the Great White Shark

Summary:

After several failed attempts, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) passed a proposal in October of 2004 to increase trade restrictions on the Great White Shark (white shark), also known as carcharodon carcharias, by placing it on Appendix II of its list of protected species. Trade in Appendix II species is restricted by the requirement that states parties issue export permits for all specimens or parts of specimens on the list. The adoption of this proposal is controversial among CITES member nations because of high market demands for white shark products. Although research on white sharks is limited due in part to the elusive nature of the species, all available research indicates that the population of white sharks is decreasing; in some areas the decline is in large, possibly unsustainable, numbers. This population decrease is particularly alarming because market demand remains a powerful motivation for continued depletion.

US - Endangered Species - Final Rule To Designate Critical Habitat for the Santa Ana Sucker (Catostomus santaanae)

Summary:

Under this final rule, the FWS has designated critical habitat for the Santa Ana Sucker, in 3 noncontiguous populations in The lower and middle Santa Ana River in San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties; the East, West, and North Forks of the San Gabriel River in Los Angeles County; and lower Big Tujunga Creek, a tributary of the Los Angeles River in Los Angeles County. We have identified 23,719 acres (ac) (9,599 hectares (ha)) of aquatic and riparian habitats essential to the conservation of the Santa Ana sucker.

US - Critical Habitat - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Establishment of a Nonessential Experimental Population f

Summary:

This final rule is a collaborative effort between the FWS and the states of Tennessee and Alabama and Conservation Fisheries, Inc. to reintroduce the boulder darter ( Etheostoma wapiti ) , an endangered fish, and the spotfin chub ( Cyprinella (= Hybopsis ) monacha ) , a threatened fish to its historical habitat in Lauderdale County Alabama and Lawrence County, Tennessee.   This rule provides for Non-essential Experimental Populations (NEP) within the designated area and it establishes limited allowable legal takings in that area.   Additionally, this rule also changes the scientific name of the spotfin chub from Cyprinella (= Hybopsis ) monacha to Erimonax monachus , to reflect a recent change in the scientific literature.

US - Critical Habitat - Critical Habitat Listing for the Topeka Shiner

Summary:

This rule is a correction to a previous final rule designating critical habitat for the Topeka Shiner ( Notropis Topeka ), published in the Federal Register on July, 24, 2004 (69 FR 44736).   In the previous final rule, the FWS designated as critical habitat 1,356 kilometers of stream in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska.   They excluded from designation all previously proposed critical habitat in Kansas, Missouri, and South Dakota, and excluded the Fort Riley Military Installation in Kansas from critical habitat designation .

US - Critical Habitat - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Klamath River and

Summary:

This final rule is written to designate a critical habitat for the Klamath River and Columbia River populations of Bull Trout.   The critical habitat designation includes approximately 1,748 miles of streams and 61,235 acres of lakes and marshes.   The reason for this designation is that at the time of listing, there are only seven remaining non-migratory populations of bull trout, and the designation is mandatory pursuant to a court order.