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Another delta fish, the Longfin smelt, to be considered for endangered status

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 7, 2008 at 6:27 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

Another Delta fish will be considered for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act, following a sharp population decline last year.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday it will conduct a status review of the longfin smelt to determine whether it warrants protection as a threatened or endangered species. The longfin, a 4-inch fish native to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, last year registered its lowest population count in four decades of monitoring.

The decision to conduct the review came in response to a petition filed in August by environmental groups.

The longfin is a cousin of the Delta smelt, a threatened species since 1993 whose population also has declined steeply in recent years. The longfin is slightly bigger, normally lives for two years instead of one and travels through a wider range of salinity conditions.

Biologists have struggled to understand the declines, but as with the Delta smelt, they believe a combination of poor water quality, invasive species and water pumping is hurting longfins. “This is another species that lives in the estuary in a slightly different way, and it’s in equally bad trouble. It’s telling us there are problems in the ecosystem, and we need to address them,” said Tina Swanson, a senior scientist at the Bay Institute, one of three petitioners.

Read the full text of the article from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

The California Farmer adds this:

The Service’s determination today, commonly known as a 90-day finding, is the first step toward possible protection for the species under the ESA. The action is based on the information provided in a petition to list the longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) population that lives in San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and on information readily available to the Service. The petition asked that the Service list longfin smelt within that area as a distinct population segment (DPS). The finding is available at http://www.fws.gov/sacramento/.

Today’s action by the Service opens a 60-day public comment period, closing July 7, 2008, during which experts and the public are encouraged to submit all relevant information about the species. The Service then will complete its next stage of review, commonly known as a 12- month review.

A similar petition to list the longfin smelt was considered in 1992, but in 1994, officials decided against listing the species at that time:

“The Service has not made a decision on whether to propose listing the longfin smelt,” says Steve Thompson, regional manager of the Service’s region 8 (California/Nevada). “The 90-day finding is our recognition that new information has developed.”

Thompson continued, “Over the next few months, the Service will evaluate this new information, and all the additional information we obtain, then make a decision on whether there is sufficient risk to the species to proceed with a listing proposal.”

Comments may be submitted until July 7, 2008. Comments may be submitted by one of the following methods:
1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for submitting comments;
2) U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R8-ES-2008-0034, Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.

All comments will be posted on http://www.regulations.gov .