San Francisco Baykeeper sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to protect a rare species. According to SFGate, the agency is accused of missing important deadlines to classify the longfin smelt, a fish native to the San Francisco Bay area, as endangered.

Baykeeper insists that the longfin smelt is in dire need of federal protection. Populations of the once-abundant species have plummeted more than 99 percent since the late 1960s. According to a press release, San Francisco Baykeeper staff attorney Ben Eichenberg stated, “Now that we’re in the final stretch, it’s disappointing that they’re delaying yet again. Longfin smelt need the full protection of the ESA to survive, and we can’t let a recalcitrant agency drive this fish population unique to San Francisco Bay into extinction.”

The legal action follows the Fish and Wildlife Service's October 2022 proposal that the San Francisco Bay’s longfin smelt be listed as endangered. However, the lawsuit alleges that the agency failed to finalize the listing and missed the congressionally mandated deadline to designate critical habitats for the species' survival. This battle is just the most recent effort in a campaign stretching back to 1992 when Baykeeper and others first petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the smelt.

This most recent lawsuit is part of a protracted engagement to safeguard a creature many might overlook but whose presence hints at the health of an entire ecosystem. The complaint seeks to oblige Fish and Wildlife to issue a final rule on the longfin smelt's status. Baykeeper is asking the court to determine if Fish and Wildlife violated the Endangered Species Act. Representing the advocacy group is attorney Michael Lozeau of the Oakland-based law firm Lozeau Drury. Neither Baykeeper nor the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offered comments to SFGATE by publication.