Black Abalone Listed

The National Marine Fisheries Service yesterday announced that the black abalone has been listed as endangered.  The principal threat to the abalone is a bacterial infection called withering syndrome, which affects the abalone's ability to take in food and which originated in the Channel Islands of California.  Commenting on the listing, Brendan Cumings of CBD (which petitioned to have the abalone listed) observed that "The plight of the black abalone speaks volumes about the way we treat our oceans."  His comment seems a little inapposite, given that the primary cause for the abalone's endangered status---withering disease---is naturally occuring.