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The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) was listed as threatened on July 28, 1978. The threatened listing was applied to wherever the species occurs. In 2007, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) completed a 5-year review for the loggerhead. A 5-year review is an assessment of a listed species to determine whether its status has changed since the time of its listing such that it should be delisted or classified differently than its current status. The agencies concluded that new information available since the completion of the previous 5-year review in 1995 indicated a possible separation of populations by ocean basins but that a more in-depth analysis was needed to determine the application of the distinct population segment (DPS) policy. Based on the new information and the need for further analysis under the DPS policy, NMFS and FWS recommended that no change in listing status was warranted. However, they committed to fully assemble and analyze all relevant information in accordance with the DPS policy.

On July 16, 2007, NMFS and FWS received a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network requesting that loggerhead turtles in the North Pacific be reclassified as a DPS with endangered status and that critical habitat be designated. On November 16, 2007, NMFS and FWS received a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity and Oceana requesting that loggerhead turtles in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean be reclassified as a DPS with endangered status and that critical habitat be designated. NMFS and FWS determined that the July …