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I. Criteria for Listing Species as Endangered or Threatened under the Endangered Species
Act
Under the ESA, 16 U.S.C. § 1533(a)(1), NMFS is required to list a species for protection
if it is in danger of extinction or threatened by possible extinction in all or a significant portion of
its range. In making such a determination, NMFS must analyze the species’ status in light of five
statutory listing factors, relying “solely on the best scientific and commercial data available,” 16
U.S.C. § 1533(b)(1)(A):

• (A) the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or
  range;
  
• (B) overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes;
  
• (C) disease or predation;
  
• (D) the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms;
  
• (E) other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence.
  

16 U.S.C. § 1533(a)(1)(A)-(E); 50 C.F.R. § 424.11(c)(1) - (5).
A species is “endangered” if it is “in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant
portion of its range” due to one or more of the five listing factors. 16 U.S.C. § 1531(6). A
species is “threatened” if it is “likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable
future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.” 16 U.S.C. § 1531(20).

2. Aquarium Trade in Corals
The trade in ornamental species for marine aquaria is global, with 30-45 countries
exporting specimens and roughly the same number creating the import market (Vincent 2006). It
is estimated that there are 1.5 million marine aquarium hobbyists worldwide, including 1 million
Americans (USCRTF 2000). The vast majority of the organisms sold for marine aquaria are wild
specimens directly extracted from coral reefs, with less than 1% of the live coral reef fish and
live coral markets cultured (Vincent 2006).
140 scleractinian species and 61 soft corals are harvested and traded for the international
aquarium market (Vincent 2006). Approximately 5% the global wild coral population was
harvested annually in the late 1980s for the live coral trade, and harvest levels increased by 30-
50% each year until 1997. Id. Between 1998 and 2003, 11-12 million stony and soft corals were
traded annually. Id. The United States is by far the largest consumer of live corals, importing
more than 70% of the total market. Id. In the 1990s, Americans imported an estimated 8 to 8.8
million pieces of live coral each year. Id. Virtually all live coral exports between 1997 and 2001
came from Indonesia, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Tonga, with 71% of the total market
exported from Indonesia. Id. Between 1990 and 2000, the international aquarium trade in coral
and live rock (reef substrate) increased at a rate of 12-30% per year (USCRTF 2000: 4).
Historic harvest of corals is thought to have severely depleted local populations of
numerous petitioned species, including many Acropora and Porites species, Caulastrea
echinulata, Heliopora coerulea. Such harvest clearly constitutes “overutilization.” Direct harvest
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of corals for the aquarium trade still occurs for many imperiled coral species, even in countries
where it has been banned.
In addition to the coral fishery, other reef species are also targeted by the strong and
growing global aquarium market, including reef fish and marine invertebrates (Vincent 2006;
USCRTF 2000). The United States dominates these import markets as well. Id. Reefs and coral
colonies can be physically damaged or destroyed when skeletons are broken or overturned to
pursue target species hiding in reef structures (Vincent 2006: 217). Reef fish are frequently
harvested using poisons, including cyanide, chlorine bleach, quinaldine, and plant toxins
(USCRTF 2000: ii). Some of these poisons damage or kill non-target corals and the reef itself.
Id. Laboratory studies of cyanide, for example, have shown that very brief exposures cause
bleaching and inhibit calcification and photosynthesis in corals (USCRTF 2000: 3). Exposures of
30 minutes or more result in coral mortality even at concentrations several fold lower than those
typically used in cyanide fishing. Id. at 7.

The harvest of coral, live rock, and reef-associated species for aquarium trade can also
have longer term impacts on local species populations and coral reef ecosystems. These
ecosystems have evolved to become efficient nutrient recyclers in very nutrient-poor
environments, and the impacts of removing significant biomass from the system are not fully
understood. Alterations in community coral structure in the Philippines from excessive harvest
inspired the federal government to ban all domestic take as well as all exports in the late 1980s.
Recent studies of Hawaiian reef fish have demonstrated population declines of 38-59% for the
most popular aquarium fish species in recent decades (USCRTF 2000: 7). Some targeted reef
fish are herbivorous species that play an important role in preventing the overgrowth of algae on
reefs, and their declining numbers can upset the fragile balance of reef ecosystem health. Id.
Finally, excessive harvest of substrate deprives the reef ecosystem of important fish and
invertebrate habitat and interferes with the settlement and recruitment of corals and other benthic
organisms (USCRTF 2000: 4). Numerous studies have documented how such impacts of
unsustainable extraction can lead to phase shifts within the ecosystem and localized extirpations
of corals and other reef-associated species (USCRTF 2000: 4).