News Law Oceana threatens Feds with Lawsuit unless action is taken immediately on turtle excluders in Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Fishery |
Oceana threatens Feds with Lawsuit unless action is taken immediately on turtle excluders in Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Fishery |
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Oceana, the largest international advocacy group working solely to protect the world’s oceans, today released a new report outlining violations of sea turtle protection regulations in the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Fishery. Specifically, the data shows that illegal fishing in the Gulf is killing thousands of threatened and endangered sea turtles, far more than had originally been estimated and approved by the U.S. government under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Oceana’s report documents violations of the fishery to use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), which allow sea turtles to escape instead of drowning in the nets. It also provides a sea turtle mortality estimate for Gulf bottom otter trawls, taking into account the documented illegal activity. Gulf bottom otter trawls alone are killing at least 4,874 loggerhead and 108 leatherback sea turtles, which is significantly higher than the ESA authorized catch limit for these species for the entire shrimp fishery.
Read the complete press release from Oceana
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HASTINGS: Time to improve the Endangered Species Act
May 18, 2012 - When the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed into law in 1973 by President Nixon, he spoke about the importance of preserving “the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.” I believe that goal is as important today as it was back then. However, after nearly 40 years, it’s time to take a fresh, honest look at the law and consider whether there are ways it could be improved to do a better job of protecting and recovering species.
