The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service is convening a series of workshops in May to get information on recovery plans for 15 Indo-Pacific coral species that are under threat.
The 15 affected species are:
Acropora globiceps, Acropora jacquelineae, Acropora lokani, Acropora pharaonis, Acropora retusa, Acropora rudis, Acropora speciosa, Acropora tenella, Anacropora spinosa, Euphyllia paradivisa, Isopora crateriformis, Montipora australiensis, Pavona diffluens, Porites napopora, and Seriatopora aculeata.
According to a notice published this week:
“We are convening a workshop to solicit facts and information from experts to help identify and guide recovery needs for these species under section 4(f) of the [Endangered Species Act]. We will not be asking for a consensus recommendation on how to recover these species. This workshop will be open to the public.”
The recovery planning workshops for these coral species will be held virtually over the course of four three-hour sessions in May 2021 at various times to accommodate participants from different time zones. Those sessions include:
Week 1–Session I: Recovery Introduction
Option A: Wednesday May 5, 8-11 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time (HST);
Option B: Thursday May 6, 2-5 p.m. HST.
Week 2–Session II: Recovery Approaches
Option A: Wednesday May 12, 8-11 a.m. HST;
Option B: Thursday May 13, 2-5 p.m. HST.
Week 3–Session III: Recovery Criteria
Option A: Wednesday May 19, 8-11 a.m. HST;
Option B: Thursday May 20, 2-5 p.m. HST.
Week 4–Session IV: Recovery Actions
Option A: Wednesday May 26, 8-11 a.m. HST;
Option B: Thursday May 27, 2-5 p.m. HST.
RSVPs are due to Danielle Jayewardene in the NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office Protected Resources Division via email at danielle.jayewardene@noaa.gov, or telephone at +1-808-725-5143 no later than April 21, 2021.
For additional background and information about these species, you can go to the NMFS species web pages at fisheries.noaa.gov.
Or check out the original notice here.
