Center for Biological Diversity v. National Marine Fisheries Service

Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Northern District of California seeking to compel the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to issue a final listing determination on the proposed rule to list the sunflower sea star as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. NMFS published the proposed rule in March 2023, and CBD alleged that NMFS violated the ESA by failing to finalize the proposed rule within 12 months. CBD alleged that the species, which lives along the Pacific Coast, had experienced mass mortalities and a 90% decline in its population since 2013 due to a wasting disease that spreads in warm waters. The complaint alleged that scientific studies had demonstrated a link between climate change and the wasting disease and also that sunflower sea stars are at risk from ocean acidification.