Comment from Eileen Hennessy

NMFS Endangered Species Division: I am writing to strongly urge you to list the scalloped hammerhead shark as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act and take swift and decisive action for the recovery of Eastern Pacific shark populations. Scalloped hammerhead sharks are in drastic decline throughout their range due to targeted overfishing for the lucrative shark fin trade and incidental bycatch in non-selective fisheries such as tuna longlines. These schooling sharks regularly congregate along seamounts, making them highly vulnerable to targeted fishing pressure. Scalloped hammerheads play an important role in the health and balance of marine ecosystems including already threatened coral reefs, ecosystems that would seriously suffer from the removal of this apex predator. In fact, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the scalloped hammerhead as endangered and considers this species at a very high risk of extinction in the wild. Unfortunately, no protections have been granted to date for scalloped hammerheads by CITES due to pressure from fishing nations. All populations of scalloped hammerhead sharks are threatened by commercial exploitation and without additional protective regulations and their enforcement, as well as being threatened with extinction. Therefore, I strongly urge you to list the scalloped hammerhead shark as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act and immediately establish critical habitat for the increased protection of their distinct populations. If the scalloped hammerhead shark is not protected while there is still time to save them, their chances for survival into the future will be in jeopardy. Thank you for your consideration.