NOAA Fisheries
Service, Fishnews, 1/23/06
Northwest - Oregon Coast Coho Avoids ESA Listing
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NOAA
Fisheries Service announced on January 17, 2006,
that the Oregon coast coho salmon evolutionarily
significant unit is not warranted for listing
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NOAA has
withdrawn its June 2004 proposal to list the
population as threatened. This finding concludes
the agency's commitment, begun in 2002, to
update all of its salmon and steelhead listing
determinations, consistent with a 2001 court
opinion. An in-depth assessment by Oregon
concluded that state actions to reform harvest
and hatcheries have helped turn the coho
population around, and that the population's
ability to rebound from very low levels
demonstrated that it is likely to persist into
the future. NOAA Fisheries Service agreed with
the Oregon analysis, although noted there are
many uncertainties about what the future holds
for the coho. Oregon and NOAA Fisheries Service
will continue to monitor coho for population
changes.
More information on this decision is posted
online. |
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