WASHINGTON— The National Marine Fisheries Service today proposed to list two tope shark populations — in Southern Africa and the Southwest Atlantic — as threatened under the Endangered Species Act because of commercial fishing. But the Service found that the other four populations, including those with habitat off California, Oregon and Washington, do not warrant protections, despite grave threats facing those sharks.

Conservation groups petitioned for listing the sharks in 2022. After the agency failure to respond, the groups sued in 2024 and won an agreement to compel today’s decision.

“Tope sharks in the U.S. and all over the world badly need a break from humans’ killing to recover, but this limited proposal just doesn’t go far enough,” said Catherine Kilduff, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “If the Trump administration actually follows through on these protections, it’ll offer some hope for two international tope shark populations. But on the U.S. West Coast, shrunken populations that were once heavily targeted still need help. The federal government should have proposed protecting all tope sharks.”

The four populations not proposed for listing are in the Northeast Atlantic, Northeast Pacific, Southwest Pacific and Southeast Pacific. The waters off California, Oregon and Washington provide prime habitat for the tope shark’s Northeast Pacific population, including important pupping areas. These coastal habitats play a critical role in reproduction and early development, making them disproportionately important to long-term population stability. Tope sharks face a high risk of bycatch and entanglement in Mexico’s gillnets.

Some assessments estimate global population declines approaching 90% over recent decades, though data gaps remain for certain regions, including the Northeast Pacific.

“Recognizing risk in some regions is an important step,” said Lindsey Zehel, a Defend Them All attorney. “But the same biological realities apply across the species’ range, particularly where key habitats and ongoing pressures remain unaddressed. The science points to site fidelity and dependence on specific habitats that may be critical to long-term survival. When data gaps exist, especially for a slow-growing species like tope sharks, they should be treated as a reason for caution, not as a basis for denying protection.”

In addition to fishing pressure, tope sharks along the Pacific coast are increasingly exposed to offshore development. Ongoing oil and gas activity is expected to increase habitat disturbance, underwater noise, vessel traffic and entanglement risks in areas used for feeding and reproduction.

If a species that lives in the United States is listed under the Act, the Service must identify critical habitat essential to its survival and recovery at the time of listing.

This decision comes amid a growing global wave of shark protections, including a landmark 2025 agreement under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to regulate trade in more than 70 shark and ray species, including tope sharks. However, CITES does not address other ongoing threats such as bycatch, habitat impacts, or continued fishing pressure, leaving significant gaps in protection, including for tope sharks in U.S. waters. CITES measures also will not take effect until mid-2027.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature categorizes the tope shark as critically endangered. The species is highly threatened with extinction because of commercial overfishing for liver oil, meat and fins, as well as bycatch and habitat degradation.

The second Trump administration has not listed any species, foreign or domestic, under the Endangered Species Act since taking office.