Candidate, Proposed, and Delisted Species Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)

Candidate species are those petitioned species that are actively being considered for listing as endangered or threatened under the ESA, as well as those species for which NMFS has initiated an ESA status review that it has announced in the Federal Register. For detailed definitions and explanations, please refer to the April 15, 2004 and October 17, 2006, Federal register notices (69 FR 19975) [pdf], (71 FR 61022) [pdf], which revised the Candidate Species definition.

Proposed species are those candidate species that were found to warrant listing as either threatened or endangered and were officially proposed as such in a Federal Register notice after the completion of a status review and consideration of other protective conservation measures. Public comment is always sought on a proposal to list species under the ESA. NMFS generally has one year after a species is proposed for listing under the ESA to make a final determination whether to list a species as threatened or endangered.

Delisted species are those species that were formerly listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA.

List of Candidate, Proposed, and Delisted Species under NMFS' Jurisdiction

Species	Year	Federal Register notice
Candidates for Listing (103 candidate "species")
alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus)	2011	76 FR 67652 [pdf]
blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis)	2011	76 FR 67652 [pdf]
bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum)	2010	75 FR 16713 [pdf]
Chinook salmon (1 candidate ESU) (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Upper Klamath and Trinity Rivers Basin ESU	2011	76 FR 20302 [pdf]
82 coral species (various species)	2010	75 FR 6616 [pdf]
cusk (Brosme brosme)	2007	72 FR 10710 [pdf]
dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae)	2012	77 FR 26478 [pdf]
great white shark (1 candidate DPS) (Carcharodon carcharias) Northeastern Pacific Ocean	2012	77 FR 59582
Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus)	2012	77 FR 61559
» Comment on 90-day finding and submit information for status review, through 12/10/2012
Pacific herring (1 candidate DPS) (Clupea pallasi) Southeast Alaska	2008	73 FR 19824 [pdf]
queen conch (Strombus gigas)	2012	77 FR 51763
sawfish (5 candidate species)	2011	76 FR 12308 [pdf]
Anoxyprisitis cuspidata Pristis clavata Pristis microdon Pristis zijsron Pristis pectinata (for non-ESA-listed population(s))
scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini)	2011	76 FR 72891 [pdf]
sturgeon (5 candidate species) Acipenser naccarii Acipenser sturio Acipenser sinensis Acipenser mikadoi Huso dauricus	2012	77 FR 51767

Species	Year Proposed	Status
Proposed for Listing (7 proposed "species")
bearded seal (2 proposed DPSs) (Erignathus barbatus)
Beringia	2010	proposed threatened [pdf]
Okhotsk	2010	proposed threatened [pdf]
false killer whale (1 candidate DPS) (Pseudorca crassidens) Insular Hawaiian	2010	proposed endangered [pdf]
ringed seal (4 proposed subspecies) (Phoca hispida)	2010	proposed threatened [pdf]
Arctic (Phoca hispida hispida) Okhotsk (Phoca hispida ochotensis) Baltic (Phoca hispida botnica) Ladoga (Phoca hispida ladogensis)

Species	Year of Candidate Status	Year Listed	Status
Under Review for Delisting (1 "species" under review for delisting)
Green turtle (1 DPS under review for delisting) (Chelonia mydas)
Hawaiian population	2012	1978	under review for delisting

Species	Year Delisting Proposed	Year Listed	Status
Proposed for Delisting (1 proposed delisted "species")
Steller sea lion (1 proposed delisted DPS) (Eumetopias jubatus)
Eastern	2012	1990	proposed delisting (recovered) [pdf]

Species	Year Delisted	Year Listed	Status
Delisted (2 delisted "species")
Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis)	2008	1967	extinct [pdf]
gray whale (1 delisted DPS) (Eschrichtius robustus)
Eastern North Pacific	1994	1970	recovered [pdf]; remains protected under MMPA

Endangered and Threatened Marine Species

Updated: October 10, 2012