Sunday, March 11, 2007

Wildlife Service Says Mullet is Not Endangered in Pittsburgh

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the US Fish and Wildlife Service just denied a petition to add the Monongahela Mullet to the Endangered Species list. Apparently they were talking about a fish, though. I suppose it's hard to sell a fish called the "bottom-feeding longneck sucker."

From the Post-Gazette:

If you thought a mullet was a hairstyle for bottom-feeder guys stuck in the 1970s, you're half right. It's also the commercial name for the bottom-feeding longneck sucker. This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied a petition to protect longnecks in the Monongahela River drainage under the Endangered Species Act. The petition, filed in 2002 by the Pennsylvania Biological Survey, cited water quality concerns and asserted that Monongahela longneck suckers are a distinct population separated from the rest, qualifying them for special treatment. The FWS ruled, however, that while Mon longnecks are geographically separate, the petition didn't prove they are genetically distinct.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07070/768524-358.stm

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