Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office
External Affairs
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Contacts:
Al Donner (916) 414-6566
al_donner@fws.gov
Steve Martarano (916) 414-6571
steve_martarano@fws.gov
Q: Didn’t the Service, in its 90-day finding, determine that petition had presented sufficient information about the imperiled condition of the longfin smelt to initiate a status review and consider listing it for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA)?
A: Yes it did. The petition asked that the Service list the San Francisco Bay-Delta population of the longfin smelt as a distinct population segment (DPS) under the ESA.
The petition, filed in August 2007 by the Bay Institute, Center for Biological Diversity and Natural Resources Defense Council, asserted that the Bay-Delta population is physically and reproductively isolated from populations further north, that it is genetically different and lives in a unique ecological setting. Petitioners also argued that reduced outflow caused by exports from the Delta has contributed to the decline of the longfin smelt. According to the petition, those factors warrant the Service to protect it under the federal ESA.
The 90-day finding (May 2008) was based on the petition, and is only the first step in determining if a species qualifies for ESA protection. A 90-day finding has the lowest threshold for scientific review under the ESA; the 90-day review is based largely on the information provided in a petition. If a 90-day finding is positive, the Service proceeds to the next step, which is to seek all additional available information. After reviewing any additional information received, the Service then determines whether the species meets the threshold for protection under the Act.
Because the petition specifically sought protection for a segment of the population as a DPS under the DPS policy, our review focused on the requirements for a DPS designation and the information available to support that designation.
To qualify as a DPS, a population segment must first meet the discreteness standard in the policy, which requires that the population segment be markedly separate from other populations of the species. In its review the Service determined that the SF Bay-Delta population did not meet the discreteness threshold because longfin smelt do leave San Francisco Bay and can move up the coast to mix with populations in other estuaries.
With regard to the petition’s assertion of genetic differences of the Bay-Delta population from other longfin smelt, the Service found little research evaluating possible genetic differences between various longfin smelt populations.
The 12-month finding finalizes action under this petition.
Q: If longfin smelt are declining, why wouldn’t FWS want to list it?
A: The statements in the petition that reduced Delta outflows contribute to the decline of the population could not be addressed because the determination on discreteness took precedence in a review for possible designation as a DPS.
The Service obviously is aware of the decline in the longfin smelt indices since 2000. In part that situation is reflected in our simultaneous call for all available information about the longfin smelt to facilitate a full status review of the species. Experts and the public are encouraged to submit all relevant scientific and commercial information about the species. Depending on the information it receives, the Service could consider a subsequent action.
Q: Wasn’t a similar petition to list the longfin smelt also turned down by the Service?
A: In 1992 a similar petition was submitted to the Service to list the entire population of longfin smelt. The species that lives in coastal estuaries from San Francisco Bay to Alaska. In 1993 FWS likewise issued a positive 90-day finding on that petition. But in 1994, in its 12-month finding, the Service concluded that listing was not warranted because, although the Bay-Delta longfin smelt population was declining, it could not be determined to be “biologically significant to the species as a whole, and may not be sufficiently reproductively isolated.”
Q: What is the condition of the longfin smelt in the Delta?
A: Longfin smelt numbers in the Delta declined by 90 per cent between 1984 and 1994, when the Service made its last finding on a petition to list the longfin smelt. (Note that survey data only provides relative abundance, not population numbers.) The Fall Mid-Water Trawl Survey had an annual average of only 537 longfin smelt from 1987 through 1994, whereas in the previous 20 years it had averaged more than 17,000 a year.
However, just after 1994 California experienced a wet cycle and the annual index for longfin smelt rose to an average above 4,000 from 1995 to 2000. Then the trend reversed again. From 2001 through 2006 the index averaged only 569 each year. The 2008 index was 139, the fifth lowest in history.
Q: California recently listed longfin smelt. Why the different conclusion?
A: The state Fish and Game Commission in February determined that the longfin smelt should be listed under the California ESA. They look at the species as it occurs in California, rather than throughout its entire range. Contact the state Department of Fish and Game for more information.
They are two separate processes, so the state’s action does not directly impact actions in another jurisdiction.
Q: What happens next?
A: We want to build a more comprehensive knowledge base about the longfin smelt range-wide, not just in the SF Bay-Delta. That is why the Service is initiating a status assessment of the longfin smelt and is seeking information from scientists, the public and stakeholders regarding taxonomy, genetics, distribution, habitat selection, population density and trends, habitat trends, effects of management, capabilities or patterns of dispersal, and potential threats to the longfin throughout its range in Alaska, Canada, Washington, Oregon and California.
When the Service reviews new information, it will determine if further action is warranted.
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Last updated: April 8, 2009
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