EUREKA, Calif., Dec. 28 (UPI) -- In a status review of the pinto abalone, the National Marine Fisheries Service declined to list the species as endangered, arguing the six-inch-long sea snail isn't under the threat of extinction despite evidence of the population's struggles.
"The best available data indicate that pinto abalone abundance has declined in many areas throughout the species' range due to fisheries harvest," the National Marine Fisheries Service, or NOAA Fisheries, admitted in the report. But officials say baseline numbers -- population data prior to commercial fishing harvests -- are difficult to estimate, complicating the process of understanding population trends.