The Center for Biological Diversity, Oceana and the Turtle Island Restoration Network on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for violating the Endangered Species Act.
The conservation groups say NMFS failed to meet the 12-month deadline to respond to three separate petitions focusing on two U.S. sea turtle species.
Two of the petitions focus on loggerhead sea turtle populations in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The groups are urging NMFS to designate the North Pacific and western North Atlantic loggerheads as distinct population segments and to change their status from threatened to endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The petitions also call for increased protections in the species’ key nesting beaches and marine habitats.
The third petition calls for NMFS to protect key migratory and foraging habitat for leatherback sea turtles in waters off California and Oregon by designating the area as critical habitat.
In addition to the petitions, the groups are calling for stronger protections, including legislation that would protect U.S. sea turtles in water and on land.
“This is a classic example of the Fisheries Service dragging its feet,” said David Allen, Oceana senior campaign director. “Sea turtles can’t continue to wait for these essential protections. More sea turtles will be caught and killed with each passing day, pushing them closer to extinction.”
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