The southeast Alaska population of Pacific herring will not be listed as an endangered species.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Wednesday said such a listing is not warranted.
The Sierra Club in 2007 petitioned NOAA Fisheries to list Pacific herring in Lynn Canal under the Endangered Species Act. The federal agency a year later concluded it was not warranted because the Lynn Canal herring were not considered to be a distinct population or species.
However, the fisheries service said the herring were part of the larger Southeast Alaska Distinct Population Segment, and the agency began investigating whether that population deserved listing.
In Wednesday’s announcement, the agency said a listing isn’t warranted because the southeast Alaska herring population is experiencing positive trends in growth and productivity.
