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Scallopers wary of new gear required to protect turtles |
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The slow-swimming creatures that lumber through the cold waters south of
Cape Cod come from an ancient lineage that can grow to 1,000 pounds and
live for 70 years. Once thriving off the East Coast, loggerhead sea
turtles have become a threatened species, as local fishermen kept
finding the docile reptiles dead in their nets or slashed by the
fast-moving steel dredges that scoop up scallops along the seabed.
Last month, the New England Fishery Management Council, which oversees the local fishing industry, approved new regulations that by 2013 would force hundreds of scallopers who fish in the rich waters from Nantucket to North Carolina to use different dredges. “This was seen as really necessary to minimize the impact on turtles,’’ said Deirdre Boelke, the council’s fishery analyst who serves as its scallop plan coordinator. “It will allow the scallop fishery to continue to operate as it should, meaning that it’s a lucrative, successful fishery.’’ Some fishermen are unhappy, however, saying the specially designed dredges, each weighing about a ton, do little more than current trawling equipment to protect turtles, and they force fishermen to burn substantially more fuel and cost more to maintain. Read the complete article from The Boston Globe
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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.
