SAN FRANCISCO— Conservation groups sued the National Marine Fisheries Service today for failing to meet its deadline to determine if the tope shark warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The Service announced in April 2022 that the tope shark — also known as the “soupfin shark” — could warrant protection, but it still has not issued a decision despite a legal obligation to decide by February 2023. The Service’s initial finding responded to a February 2022 petition submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Defend Them All Foundation.

“Tope sharks are vanishing very quickly, so they can’t wait until federal officials find it convenient to act. They need protections now,” said David Derrick, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We’ve been watching for years as these sharks are hunted for fins and meat and killed by fishing gear entanglements. The federal government already acknowledged that these sharks need help, and it’s time to stop their population plunge with Endangered Species Act safeguards.”

The waters off California, Oregon and Washington provide prime habitat for the tope shark. Off Southern California, tope sharks face a high risk of bycatch and entanglement in Mexico’s gillnets. The tope shark declined by nearly 90% over about 80 years.

The groups’ petition also asks the Service to designate critical habitat essential to the survival and recovery of the tope shark, including its West Coast breeding sites.

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 United States has not developed a stock assessment or fishery management plan for tope sharks, so their status here is largely unknown.

“Relentless overexploitation, habitat degradation, inadequate regulatory mechanisms and other manmade factors, including contaminants, are pushing the tope shark closer to extinction every day,” said Lindsey Zehel, a Defend Them All attorney. “Federal protection will give this important top predator a fighting chance and must be prioritized.”

The tope shark is long and slender, growing up to 6.5 feet long and nearly 100 pounds. The sharks can live up to 60 years and mature late, at 12.5 years on average. Tope sharks are found in temperate, shallow waters along coastlines around the world, from North America to Australia to the Mediterranean.

The entire U.S. West Coast is excellent tope shark territory, from La Jolla in San Diego County north to Washington state. The shark gathers in five zones: La Jolla in San Diego County, the rest of San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties (including Santa Catalina Island), Ventura and Santa Barbara counties (including the Northern Channel Islands), San Luis Obispo through Sonoma counties (including San Francisco Bay and the Farallon Islands), and Oregon and Washington.

A tope shark listing could trigger habitat protections and review of fishing practices that could aid recovery of the species.