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Thorny skate will not be added to endangered species list

FILE - This undated photo released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a thorny skate, a bottom-dwelling fish whose habitat in the In the north Atlantic Ocean ranges from Greenland to South Carolina. The federal government says the thorny skate will not be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Environmental groups argued that the thorny skate's decline in the northwest Atlantic Ocean was considerable enough to afford it protections set aside for endangered animals. But the National Marine Fisheries Service says it disagrees.(T. Curtis/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via AP) FILE - This undated photo released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a thorny skate, a bottom-dwelling fish whose habitat in the In the north Atlantic Ocean ranges from Greenland to South Carolina. The federal government says the thorny skate will not be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Environmental groups argued that the thorny skate's decline in the northwest Atlantic Ocean was considerable enough to afford it protections set aside for endangered animals. But the National Marine Fisheries Service says it disagrees.(T. Curtis/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via AP)

By Associated Press February 25, 2017 1 min read

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – The federal government says the thorny skate will not be listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Environmental groups argued that the thorny skate’s decline in the northwest Atlantic Ocean was considerable enough to afford it protections set aside for endangered animals. But the National Marine Fisheries Service says it disagrees.

Documents published in the Federal Register on Friday say the fisheries service concludes the thorny skate is “not currently in danger of extinction” in all or a significant piece of its range. The service says the fish is also not likely to become in danger of extinction soon.

The thorny skate ranges from Greenland to South Carolina. Fishermen have been prohibited from harvesting it commercially since 2003. They’re sometimes taken as bycatch in other fisheries, including the cod fishery.