NOAA: Atlantic Wolffish Won't Be Listed As Endangered or Threatened

image: 

NOAA’s Fisheries Service has ruled that Atlantic wolffish are not currently in danger of extinction, although the fish will continue to be classified as a "species of concern."

This is the agency's final decision on a petition issued by the Conservation Law Foundation in 2008 which requested that the species be listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Dr. Erica Fuller and Dr. Les Watling of the University of Maine were co-petitioners.

Wolffish do not have much commercial value but they do get caught in ground traps. The species has a decent survival rate after being caught and released, according to research cited by NOAA.

Atlantic wolffish live on the ocean bottom along continental shelf waters from Cape Cod to northern France.

Photo credit: NOAA