On 3 March, the federal Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to pursue the expansion of California’s devastating drift gillnet fishery for swordfish and sharks into an area that is currently off-limits in order to protect critically endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtles, Oceana informed.
The Council’s action specifically asked for an analysis of just how much of the sea turtle protected area could be reduced to allow more drift gillnet fishing. The Pacific Leatherback Conservation Area prohibits drift gillnet fishing between August 15 and November 15 along the California coast north of Point Sur out to the 200-mi Economic Zone.
It was established in 2001 to protect the endangered leatherback which migrates from Indonesia specifically to feed on jellyfish off the US West Coast. The Council tried to open the area once before in 2006, but the attempt was defeated by conservation groups.
All the science suggests that endangered sea turtles need more protection, not less, said Oceana California Programme Director Geoff Shester. Drift gillnets have unacceptable levels of bycatch of some of our most treasured and vulnerable marine life, so if we want to catch more swordfish, we need to pursue cleaner fishing methods.
Every year, the deadly fishery indiscriminately captures and kills or injures more than 130 protected whales, dolphins, seals and sea lions as well as thousands of sharks and other marine animals. The vast majority of those animals are dumped back into the ocean, dead or injured. Expanding the drift gillnet fishery would also lead to increased bycatch of iconic sunfish, bluefin tuna, blue sharks, striped marlin, and albacore tuna, Oceana argues.
A new federal bycatch report also revealed that fishery observers witnessed two endangered sperm whales entangled and killed in the fishery in 2010. Since most entanglements go unseen due to low observer coverage, federal fishery managers estimated that as many as 16 sperm whales were likely to have been injured or killed in the fishery that year. This is well above the legal limit of sperm whales allowed to be captured in the California drift gillnet fishery.
The California drift gillnet fishery targets swordfish and thresher shark and uses nets that stretch a mile in length. The nets are set to soak overnight and catch almost all fish and animals that swim into them in the dark ocean.
The proposed drift gillnet expansion would also encroach on an ocean area that in January was designated as critical habitat for the endangered leatherback sea turtle.
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the State of California are also pushing to increase domestic Pacific swordfish landings by initiating a new shallow-set longline fishery for swordfish despite the fact that the market trend in swordfish demand has been decreasing since the 1990s. Longlining along the coast is now prohibited by the State of California.
New lower bycatch gear will also be studied by the Council.
1995 – 2012 Fish Info & Services Co.Ltd