WILD FISH CONSERVANCY PETITIONS NMFS TO LIST AS ENDANGERED OR THREATENED CHINOOK STOCKS IN ALAKSA AS WELL AS DESIGNATE CRITICAL HABITAT
The petition is asking for a status review under Endangered Species Act (ESA) all Chinook populations that enter the marine environment of the Gulf of Alaska, including all populations on the South side of the Aleutian Peninsula, Cook Inlet, Coast of AK south of Cook Inlet to the the Canadian border.
The review process is lengthy. NMFS has 90 days to determine if the petition has any merit and to accept it. If it is accepted, it starts a comprehensive review, the agency will decide generally within a year whether the review supports listing the stocks as threatened or endangered. If the review supports a listing a proposed rule and request for public comments is published and a final decision is generally made within a year.
The criteria for listing a stock as endangered or threatened is the the threat of going extinct. ESA is not a tool for stepping in for prec4autionary conservation & management.