April 23, 2003
Contact: John Buse, EDC. 805-677-2570 or 805-766-4287 (cell)

EDC SETTLEMENT REQUIRES RECOVERY PLAN FOR TIDEWATER GOBY

Endangered Fish Inhabits Wetlands Threatened by Coastal Development

VENTURA - Today, the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) announced that it has reached a lawsuit settlement that will put the tidewater goby, a federally endangered fish that inhabits coastal saltwater lagoons, on the road to recovery. The lawsuit, filed in 1999 on behalf of EDC, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Heal the Bay, and the Friends of the Ventura River, challenged the federal government's failure to prepare a recovery plan for the goby. A recovery plan is required by law and is long overdue for the goby, which was added to the list of endangered species in 1994. The settlement requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to finalize a goby recovery plan by December 2005.

The tidewater goby (Eucylogobius newberryi), is a small greyish-brown fish, rarely exceeding two inches in length. The goby is unique among most fishes along the Pacific Coast in its restriction to waters with low salinities in California's coastal wetlands. The tidewater goby used to be found in most of California's coastal lagoons. Since 1900, however, about half of California's goby populations have been eliminated due to habitat destruction, pollution and non-native predators.

Despite the goby's diminishing numbers, in 1999 FWS proposed removing goby populations north of Orange County from the list of protected species without first preparing a recovery plan. While this removal, or "delisting", is the ultimate goal in any species' recovery, delisting is only appropriate when a species is considered safe from the threat of extinction. With the goby, this was not the case. In response, EDC filed its lawsuit challenging FWS's failure to prepare a recovery plan. In 2002, faced with considerable scientific evidence indicating that the goby still faced extinction, FWS abandoned its proposal to delist the species.

"Our settlement ensures that the goby will benefit from the protection of the Endangered Species Act until the species has recovered," said EDC Senior Staff Attorney John Buse. "The Fish and Wildlife Service's attempt to delist the goby without a recovery plan put the cart before the horse."

"The effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act can be measured by the success of its species recovery efforts. Goby recovery will require a genuine effort to implement a recovery plan, but the plan is an important first step," said Andrew Wetzler, an attorney for NRDC.

EDC is the only nonprofit environmental law firm between Los Angeles to San Francisco. EDC works with community groups on environmental issues such as protecting water quality, preserving precious open spaces, saving species from extinction and guarding public health. For more information, please contact John Buse at 805-677-2570 or 805-766-4287.

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