MIAMI— The National Marine Fisheries Service issued a final rule today to change the status of the pillar coral, a species found in Florida waters and elsewhere in the Caribbean, from threatened to endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

The new endangered status comes because of population declines and susceptibility to a recently emerged coral disease, the Service said. Scientists estimated in 2020 that only 40 unique pillar coral individuals remained in Florida.

“I’m relieved the pillar coral is finally getting more protection as corals endure record-breaking marine heat waves, nutrient pollution, and disease,” said Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Healthy corals underpin entire reef ecosystems, and we desperately need to keep them alive and well. We also have to address the root causes of water pollution and the climate crisis, but endangered status will give the pillar coral a fighting chance.”

Corals got a slight reprieve from marine heat this year but oceans are likely to experience more heat waves like the one that occurred in 2023.

In 2023 the Service designated critical habitat for five Caribbean coral species, including the pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus). Those designations followed a March lawsuit filed by the Center against the Fisheries Service for failing to finalize protections for 12 threatened coral species around Florida and islands in the Pacific Ocean, including the five that received habitat designations.

All the species were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2014 but did not receive the critical habitat protection the law requires.

Coral populations have declined dramatically because of climate change, pollution and overfishing. An estimated 50% of coral reefs worldwide have already been lost to climate change, and about one-third of reef-building coral species are at risk of extinction. A marine heat wave off the Florida coast in July 2023 caused the most severe coral bleaching event in the state’s history.

In 2014 the Fisheries Service listed 20 species of corals as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, with 12 of them occurring within U.S. waters. The pillar coral is the only one that the Service has changed the status to endangered.

As an endangered species, the coral automatically gets certain protections, including prohibitions on importing, exporting, engaging in foreign or interstate commerce, or “taking” of the species. The Service provided more information here.