Key Message:
NOAA Fisheries is announcing a final rule to list queen conch as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. All public comments from the proposed listing have been considered and addressed prior to the publication of the rule. The primary threat to the queen conch is overutilization through commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishing and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
What this Means:
We determined that the queen conch warrants listing as a threatened species after considering the best scientific and commercial information available, the status review report, and the efforts being made to protect the species.
A threatened species is defined under the Endangered Species Act as “any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.”
The threatened designation will not automatically establish prohibitions on trade or other private activities. Queen conch will gain protections from the ESA’s requirement for federal agencies to consult with NOAA Fisheries on their actions that may affect the species. We intend to develop protective regulations for queen conch under section 4(d) of the ESA in a later rulemaking, which would include opportunity for public comment.
Background
On September 8, 2022, NOAA Fisheries published a proposed rule to list the queen conch as threatened under the ESA (87 FR 55200). Our public comment period lasted for a total of 90 days, and we held a virtual public hearing on November 21, 2022. The final rule addresses all of the public comments that were received.
Formal Federal Register Name/Number:
89 FR 11208, published February 14, 2024
How to find more information on the final rule:
The final rule to list the queen conch as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and all supplementary materials that were prepared to support the development of the final rule may be found online at the NOAA Fisheries Website here.
Contact: Orian Tzadik at NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Regional Office
