BEFORE THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE PETITION TO LIST EIGHT SPECIES OF POMACENTRID REEF FISH, INCLUDING THE ORANGE CLOWNFISH AND SEVEN DAMSELFISH, AS THREATENED OR ENDANGERED UNDER THE U.S. ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT Orange Clownfish (Amphiprion percula) photo by flickr user Jan Messersmith CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY SUBMITTED SEPTEMBER 13, 2012 Notice of Petition Rebecca M. Blank Acting Secretary of Commerce U.S. Department of Commerce 1401 Constitution Ave, NW Washington, D.C. 20230 Email:
[email protected] Samuel Rauch Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries NOAA Fisheries National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration 1315 East-West Highway Silver Springs, MD 20910 E-mail:
[email protected] PETITIONER Center for Biological Diversity 351 California Street, Suite 600 San Francisco, CA 94104 Tel: (415) 436-9682 _____________________ Date: September 13, 2012 Shaye Wolf, Ph.D. Miyoko Sakashita Center for Biological Diversity Pursuant to Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), 16 U.S.C. § 1533(b), Section 553(3) of the Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. § 553(e), and 50 C.F.R.§ 424.14(a), the Center for Biological Diversity hereby petitions the Secretary of Commerce and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”), through the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS” or “NOAA Fisheries”), to list eight pomacentrid reef fish and to designate critical habitat to ensure their survival. The Center for Biological Diversity (“Center”) is a non-profit, public interest environmental organization dedicated to the protection of imperiled species and their habitats through science, policy, and environmental law. The Center has more than 350,000 members and online activists throughout the United States.