Feds move to protect sharks

Sharks may be endangered, the Obama administration is warning.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is proposing to list a certain species known as angel sharks as endangered. The announcement comes one week after the celebration of “Shark Week.”

The sawback angel shark, smoothback angel shark, and common angel shark would all be protected under the agency’s proposal.

“Angel sharks can be found worldwide in temperate and tropical waters,” the agency wrote in the Federal Register. “These species are bottom dwellers and prefer to spend most of their time buried in the sand or mud.”

The NMFS is moving to protect these sharks after noticing “significant declines” in their population.

The proposal comes in response to a July 2013 petition from the conservation group WildEarth Guardians, the agency noted.

Despite proposing to list angel sharks as endangered, the NMFS said it will not establish a critical habitat for these sharks, because their geographical range falls outside the United States.

The public has 60 days to comment.