Three national environmental groups will petition federal officials today to list a type of Pacific red snapper as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.
Bocaccio, one of several species sold in the grocery store as Pacific red snapper, was formerly the most abundant ground fish off Southern California. But overfishing, coupled with habitat loss, has decreased its California population by 98% since 1969, said Andrew Wetzler, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council in Los Angeles.
If bocaccio is listed, it will be the first ocean fish protected under the Endangered Species Act. Fish that spawn in freshwater, such as salmon, have been listed, but previous attempts to declare marine fish in danger of extinction have failed.
A "threatened" designation could legally have huge effects on commercial and recreational fishing. But environmentalists say that if the listing is not approved, the fish will disappear.
"We have [nearly] fished this species into extinction," said Wetzler.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, along with the Center for Marine Conservation and the Center for Biological Diversity, plans to file the petition to list the Southern and Central California populations with U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans today.
Under the Endangered Species Act, a species can be considered in danger of extinction in a specific region. Bocaccio, which can live 40 years, inhabit rocky reefs on the continental shelf off the Pacific coastline. They range from Alaska to Mexico, but the population the activists are trying to list as threatened stretches from Northern California to the Mexican border.
The National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the Department of Commerce, will probably make the final call.
The agency, which has already declared the species overfished, has 90 days to determine if it has enough information or if further study is warranted. A final decision is required within two years.
If the fish is listed as threatened, federal officials could ban all commercial and sportfishing of it. But fisheries officials and environmentalists agree that such a move is highly unlikely.
Wetzler said a ban on commercial harvesting is more likely, because sportfishermen wouldn't know they had caught a bocaccio until they reeled it in. Even if the fish were tossed back, they probably would die because of swim bladders that cannot rapidly deflate as they are reeled to the surface. The pressure change can kill the fish.
