April 2, 2014 — The National Marine Fisheries Service announced today that it would not designate Southeast Alaska’s Pacific herring as an endangered species.
The agency, or NMFS, concluded that the Southeast Alaska distinct population segment, or DPS, of Pacific herring listing was not warranted after several years of work. The original petition for the listing was submitted in 2007.
According to the agency, those herring had a positive abundance trend from 1980 to 2011, and are also displaying positive trends in growth rate and productivity.
According to the agency: “While there are some threats from habitat loss in urban areas, NOAA Fisheries concluded that Pacific herring in Southeast Alaska are not likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future.”
Read the full story at the Alaska Journal of Commerce