Environmentalists want a federal judge to force fisheries managers to take action on lawsuits seeking stronger protections for sea turtles.
Three groups — Oceana, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sea Turtle Restoration Project — filed a complaint today in San Francisco federal court, saying the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service have violated the Endangered Species Act by not responding within 12 months to lawsuits asking for the protections.
Lawyers for the groups said the initial three petitions were filed in 2007, and that the delay is hurting the waning populations of leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles off the U.S. coasts.