Montgomery, AL – The Center for Biological Diversity is suing over the denial of endangered species protection for the Alabama shad.
The Center says it filed suit Wednesday against the National Marine Fisheries Service. The Center says it petitioned in 2010 for protected status for 404 species dependent on southeastern rivers and streams, including the shad. The Center says protection for the shad was rejected without a status review.
The Fisheries Service said Wednesday it could not comment on pending litigation.
The Center says the shad used to be abundant but has been diminished by a combination of dams, pollution and habitat destruction.
The shad spends most of its life in the ocean but breeds in fresh water. Populations are thought to remain in certain rivers in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri.
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