November 26, 2012 the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration accepted a petition to delist Southern Resident killer whales which are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
NOAA will begin a review to determine the population's ESA status, and is soliciting scientific and commercial information about these whales to ensure that the status review is comprehensive.
The petition presents new information from scientific journal articles about killer whale genetics, addressing issues such as how closely related this small population is to other populations, and meets NOAA Fisheries’ standard for accepting a petition to review.
Acceptance of this petition doesn't presuppose any particular outcome. NOAA will consider and address all substantive information on it received by Jan. 28, 2013.
See the website for details.
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