Newest Rule Allows Hawai`i Longline Vessels to Triple their Catch of Sea Turtles
STRP and allies have filed suit against a rule removing all limits on fishing effort and nearly three times as many loggerhead sea turtle captures as was previously permitted in the Hawai`i-based longline swordfish fishery. The new rule conflicts with the Fisheries Service's own assessment that the North Pacific loggerhead sea turtle is in danger of extinction and that incidental capture in longline fisheries is a primary threat to the species' continued existence. Longline hooks snag endangered sea turtles, marine mammals such as the endangered false killer whale, many species of diving sea birds such as albatross, and many species of sharks as well.
The new regulations increase allowable capture of threatened North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles from 17 per year to 46 per year and continues to allow the capture of 16 endangered Pacific leatherbacks each year. The new regulation also eliminates the number of "sets" by each fishing vessel, and estimates calculated from previous efforts by this fishery show that fishing could increase to historic levels of 4,000 to 5,000 sets per year, resulting in 3.4 to 4.2 million hooks a year in these waters.
"The sea turtles are swimming toward extinction, yet this plan seems intent on continuing the same old fishery policies hastening their demise," said Teri Shore, Program Director of Turtle Island Restoration Network. "We are disappointed, given Obama's new directives to protect the oceans."
Swordfish longline vessels trail up to 60 miles of fishing line suspended in the water with floats, with as many as a thousand baited hooks deployed at regular intervals. Sea turtles become hooked while trying to take bait or entangled while swimming through the nearly invisible lines. These encounters can drown the turtle or leave it with serious wounds. Sea birds such as albatross dive for the bait and become hooked, and marine mammals, including endangered humpback whales, become hooked when they swim through the floating lines.
