Greenside darter (Etheostoma blennioides) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 10

Existing Protection or Other Status Designations

As a Special Concern species from 1990 to the current reassessment (2006), the greenside darter is not protected by any federal or provincial species at risk legislation in Canada. The greenside darter is a legal baitfish in Ontario, and may be harvested for use as bait by licensed anglers and commercial bait harvesters. There is no evidence to suggest that this species is a preferred or sought-after bait species (Coker et al. 2001), although some may be harvested incidentally.

The greenside darter was assessed as Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) in 1990 (COSEWIC 2004), and is also listed as Special Concern under Schedule 3 of the federal Species at Risk Act and on the Species at Risk in Ontario List. It has been ranked as sensitive at the provincial and national levels by the General Status of Wild Species in Canada. The greenside darter is considered globally secure (G5) and is ranked as secure (S4 or S5) in most American states where it occurs (Table 1). It is ranked as S1 in Mississippi where it is a state endangered species (Mississippi Natural Heritage Program 2002), and it is ranked as S2 in Kansas where it is listed as a species in need of conservation (Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory 2005). The subnational rank for this species in Ontario is S4.

Table 1.  Global, national and subnational heritage ranks for the greenside darter (Etheostoma blennioides) (NatureServe 2006)
Rank level Rank Jurisdictions
Global G5 --
National N5 United States
National N4 Canada
Subnational S5 Maryland, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia
Subnational S4S5 Kentucky
Subnational S4 Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, Ontario
Subnational S3S4 Georgia
Subnational S3 Alabama, Illinois, New York
Subnational S2 Kansas
Subnational S1 Mississippi
Subnational SH District of Columbia
Subnational SNR Missouri, Ohio

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