Fishing News
An old, old fish gets some extra protection from the government
By John Heilprin, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Gulf sturgeon, already listed as a threatened species, would gain further protection under a court-ordered government proposal to designate regions of "critical habitat" for the fish.
Four public hearings on the proposal are planned in August in Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana. A final decision is due by Feb. 28, 2003.
"This is a great thing, because in the big picture, the environment is the economy, and so there will be an enormous economic benefit from the recovery of Gulf sturgeon," said David Guest, a lawyer who heads the Florida office of San Francisco-based Earthjustice, the environmental law firm that filed suit over sturgeon for the Sierra Club.
The proposal Thursday by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service outlines specific geographic areas that are essential for conservation of Gulf sturgeon and may require special management and protection.
Georgia Cranmore, an assistant regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service in St. Petersburg, Fla., said the areas are based on historic data as well as information collected as recently as May.
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