Feds say no to wolffish endangered listing

The National Marine Fisheries Service has determined that the ever so ugly Atlantic wolffish is not in danger of extinction and should not be placed on the endangered species list.

A face only a mother could love? (Photo courtesy of Jonathan Bird)

Last year, the Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation petitioned the federal government for listing, noting that Wolffish numbers have severely declined since the 1980s. They also hoped that the wolffish's plight would draw attention to its neighborhood - the rocky, boulder-strewn sea floor, which can be disrupted when fishermen drag a net or trawl across the bottom.

The federal government did say the Atlantic wolffish will continue to be classified as a species of concern that will funnel research dollars to ensure it doesn't become listed.

Here is the press release.

And here's a story staffer Carolyn Johnson did on the fish last year.