Drift gill-net fishery closed to make safe passage for migrating loggerhead turtles

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2014/daily-breeze-07-28-2014.html

Daily Breeze, July 28, 2014
Drift gill-net fishery closed to make safe passage for migrating loggerhead turtles

Sandy Mazza

For the first time since its creation more than a decade ago, a sea-turtle conservation area that encompasses 25,000 square miles of ocean off Southern California has been closed to gill-net fishing for fear of injuring or killing the federally protected animals.

National fisheries managers implemented the ban Friday on all large-mesh drift gill-net fishing through the end of August across the Pacific Loggerhead Conservation Area, which runs from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border.

Environmental organizations that have been trying to close the local gill net fishery cheered the decision Monday. The fishery uses gill nets to nab swordfish and thresher sharks, but unintended species routinely get caught in the gear.

“The government’s failure to implement its own rule to protect the Pacific loggerhead turtle from California drift nets, after it up-listed the species from threatened to endangered, adds fuel to the movement to phase out this destructive fishery that kills thousands of whales, dolphins and sea turtles,” said Todd Steiner, a biologist and executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network.

FULL story at link.

[DreamGypsy]

1. YES!!!

Finally a report of a positive step to protect our fellow earth-inhabitants from pollution, sonic slaughter, incidental destruction, and the myriad other fatal actions which the "intelligent" species perpetrate on the "lesser" creatures.

Thanks for the post, OS. However briefly, this news lifted a weight from my spirit ... oh, but there's still the question of enforcement of the ban.

Well, seems like a potential step forward:

“We've been trying to get this fishery phased out and closed,” said Ben Enticknap, a scientist and campaign manager for Oceana, a nonprofit environmental organization working to ban gill net fishing. “The conversation has changed (in recent years) from expanding the fishery to putting hard caps on it, so we’re seeing some progress.

“We’re trying to get them to implement permanent rules on species of whales, rare and sensitive shark species, and many different types of dolphin killed in this fishery.”