Foreign Loggerhead Sea Turtle DPSs 5-Year Review
February 26, 2021
A 5-year review is a periodic analysis of a species’ status conducted to ensure that the listing classification of a species as threatened or endangered on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants is accurate.
Under section 4(c)(2) of the Endangered Species Act, we are required to conduct a review of all listed species at least once every 5 years to assess whether the current listing status remains accurate. In 2011, NOAA Fisheries identified 9 loggerhead sea turtle DPSs, including 7 foreign DPSs. Four of the 7 foreign DPSs were listed as endangered: Mediterranean Sea DPS, Northeast Atlantic Ocean DPS, North Indian Ocean DPS, and South Pacific Ocean DPS. The other three foreign DPSs were listed as threatened: South Atlantic Ocean DPS, Southeast Indo-Pacific Ocean DPS, and Southwest Indian Ocean DPS.
On December 26, 2019, we initiated the 5-year review for the seven foreign DPSs. The 5-year review is based on the best available data through August 2020. We concluded that no change to the listing status of any of the foreign loggerhead sea turtle DPSs is warranted at this time.