3.10 Marine Species
resources are high priorities. Te information provided in this section was developed by reviewing existing information sources on marine and pelagic species and habitats and through review and input by partner organizations that are directly responsible for manag- ing these resources. Pelagic bird species are addressed as a separate topic in Section 3.11. Table 3.29 lists marine or estuarine species known to occur currently or historically in North Carolina coastal waters that are SGCN priority species. Note that sea turtle species were included in the Taxa Team evaluation of reptiles because they use terrestrial habitats (beaches) for nesting; therefore, sea turtles are also included in the reptile SGCN list (see Section 3.8) . 3.10.2 Federal Regulations Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), all marine mammals are protected from take in US waters and by US citizens on the high seas, and marine mammals and marine mammal products are prohibited from importation into the United States. Te NOAA Fisheries is responsible for the management, conservation, and protection of living marine resources within the US Exclusive Economic Zone (3 to 200 miles ofshore), includ- ing sea turtles, marine and anadromous fsh, plants and invertebrates, cetaceans, and
T ABLE 3.29 SGCN marine species
Federal/ State Status*
Taxon FISH
Scientifc Name
Common Name
Acipenser brevirostrum Acipenser oxyrinchus
Shortnose Sturgeon Atlantic Sturgeon Smalltooth Sawfsh
E/E E/E E/E E/E E/E E/E E/E E/E T/T
Pristis pectinata
Balaenoptera physalus Eubalaena glacialis Megaptera novaeangliae
MAMMAL
Fin Whale
Northern Right Whale
Humpback Whale
Physeter catodon [microcephalus]
Sperm Whale
Trichechus manatus
West Indian Manatee Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Caretta caretta Chelonia mydas
REPTILE
Green Sea Turtle
**T/T
Dermochelys coriacea
Leatherback Sea Turtle Hawksbill Sea Turtle Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Diamondback Terrapin
E/E E/E E/E
Eretmochelys imbricata imbricata
Lepidochelys kempii Malaclemys terrapin
SC
* See Table 3.2 for abbreviations. ** Te juvenile foraging population of Green Sea Turtles found in the inshore waters of North Carolina comprises a mix of turtles from threatened and endangered populations, representing turtles from nesting populations in Florida that are designated as endangered and individuals from the Caribbean that are designated as threatened.
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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