2 coral species added to endangered list

On May 4, at the biannual meeting of the United States Coral Reef Task Force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service announced that two species of hard coral, Acropora palmata (elkhorn) and Acropora cervicornis (staghorn), will be officially listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Staghorn and elkhorn corals grow primarily on shallow water reefs in the waters around Florida and the Caribbean. Although being threatened sure doesn’t sound like a good thing, being listed under the ESA is great news for these corals and their fellow reef inhabitants.

The ESA is one of the most powerful pieces of environmental legislation on the books. Once a species has been listed as threatened, NOAA issues regulations to prohibit anyone from “taking or harming” individuals of the species. The power of the act comes from the definition of the words “take” and “harm.” It is not only prohibited to directly kill or injure the species, but also to engage in any act that has an adverse affect on a listed species. For example, clearing trees in a forest that supports the endangered Marianas Reed Warbler.

But designation is just the beginning, as far as the reefs are concerned. After a species has been listed, NOAA Fisheries Service then has one year to designate “critical habitat” for the species. Critical habitat is defined as “areas containing physical or biological features essential to conservation.” In other words, the area that must be specially managed to ensure the survival of the species. It then becomes illegal for any federal agency to “authorize, fund, or carry out” any actions that might “jeopardize the continued existence of a listed species, or destroy or adversely modify its designated critical habitat.” Whew, that’s a mouthful, but in essence, it means that the feds have to be mighty careful around endangered species and their habitats. Note that this illegal habitat provision does not affect private landowners. Only the prohibitions on “taking” and “harming” the species affect the landowners.

So, what does this designation mean for the threatened staghorn or elkhorn corals and their habitat? Well, hopefully it will provide them with a lot more protection. For example, a developer wanting to build a condominium on the coast would not only have to comply with all state laws regarding setbacks and permits, but would also have to ensure that the project did not harm nearby staghorn corals. Or, if the federal government wanted to build a sewage outfall in a critical habitat area, it would have to ensure that the outfall did not negatively impact the habitat.
Although staghorn and elkhorn are not found in the waters of the CNMI, this ruling, the first listing of any coral species, may pave the way for further listings of Pacific coral reef species.

CoCo