The US government is looking at whether to list the Atlantic Humpback Dolphin as an endangered species.
The National Marine Fisheries Service announced in a notice this week that it had received a petition from the Animal Welfare Institute, the Center for Biological Diversity and VIVA Vaquita “to list the Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa teuszii) as a threatened or endangered species under the” Endangered Species Act. Further:
“The petition asserts that Sousa teuszii is threatened by four of the five ESA section 4(a)(1) factors: (1) The present destruction or modification of its habitat; (2) overutilization for commercial purposes; (3) inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; and (4) manmade factors affecting its continued existence.”
Consequently, NMFS said:
“We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. Therefore, we are initiating a status review of the species to determine whether listing under the ESA is warranted. To ensure this status review is comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial information regarding this species.”
For information on how to submit comments to NMFS, check out the notice in the Federal Register.
