The California swordfish drift gillnet fishery kills more dolphins than all other West Coast and Alaska fisheries combined. Photo: NMFS.
Excerpt:
On July 12, 2017 Oceana filed a lawsuit challenging the Secretary of Commerce and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) decision to back out of a proposed rule establishing limits—called hard caps—on the injury and death of endangered whales and sea turtles entangled in the Californian-based swordfish driftnet fishery. The surprise retraction is a blow to state and federal fishery managers on the Pacific Fishery Management Council who voted to recommend the rule, state leaders who have been working to clean up California’s dirty driftnet fishery, and the tens of thousands of people who supported this action. What’s worse is that the 20 active driftnet boats now have a green light to continue to kill dolphins, sea lions, whales, turtles, sharks and many other animals as “bycatch” without limit or consequence.
The Pacific Ocean off California is referred to by some as the Blue Serengeti because this exceptionally rich and productive ocean ecosystem is a migratory destination for massive herds of ocean animals that travel here to feed. Yet in the heart of this wildlife hotspot, fishermen pursue swordfish at night using mile-long nets that are nearly 200 feet deep.These driftnets are inherently unselective and have a long track record of entangling and killing whales, dolphins, sea lions, sea turtles and non-target fish including rare sharks, billfish and rays.
According to data collected by the National Marine Fisheries Service observer program, the fishery throws overboard, on average, more than 60 percent of its catch and kills valuable recreational fish like marlins as well as rare, sensitive hammerhead sharks, megamouth sharks, and manta rays. This single fishery kills more dolphins than all other West Coast and Alaska fisheries combined. NMFS estimates that between 2001 and 2015 the fishery entangled 1,460 marine mammals, sea turtles and seabirds (Carretta et al. 2017). These driftnets are widely known to be so dirty that no other U.S. region or state allows them to be used to catch swordfish. Internationally, driftnets are banned on the high seas, and swordfish driftnets are banned in the Mediterranean Sea.
