Thorny Skate Will Not Be Listed As Endangered: Government Declines Protection Under ESA

The "Thorny Skate" is a bottom-dwelling fish which is found in the North Atlantic Ocean ranges from Greenland to South Carolina. Its population has been threatened in the recent times, but as the Federal Government says, it is too early to be listed on the endangered species roster.

According to The Washington Post, environmental groups argue with the government on their decision to not enlist the "Thorny Skate" in the endangered species list. They say that the significant loss of habitat in the North Atlantic Ocean is a good enough reason to term the species endangered. On the other hand, documents published by the Federal register on Friday show enough proof of the fact the "Thorny Skate" are not yet likely to be in danger of extinction.

The Federal register report says that there has been a 5% drop in the sighting of the "Thorny Skate" from that of 1970's, but still the situation is not as bad as the environmental groups are demanding. "Thorny Skate" fishes are still available in plenty in the greater portion of their range. "Thorny Skate" fishes also live in the Gulf of Maine which is famous for commercial fishing. The call to protect them has seen resistance in the above-mentioned locality.

According to Prefscience, the Federal law has a regulation known as ESA (Endangered Species Act) that restricts the logging, drilling and any other types of land use, giving special protection to almost two thousand categories of vulnerable animals and plants. Listing of the "Thorny Skate" under the ESA would have given way to new restrictions in fishing and habitat protection.

The environmental groups are visibly disappointed with the decision of not enlisting "Thorny Skate" as an endangered species under the ESA. They completely disagree with the fact that the "Thorny Skate" is not subject to overfishing.

Thorny Skate fishes have immense commercial value as food as well as bait. Its meat appears as a popular dish called "skate wing". It tends to be a little cheaper than the other varieties of fishes apart from carrying a certain exclusivity to it.