September 19, 2014 — Nicknamed "walls of death" in the conservation community, drift gillnets entangle roughly 100 marine mammals every year, along with sea turtles, thousands of sharks, and other economically important fish.
Imagine being trapped 100 feet underwater in a massive net, struggling to reach the surface and unable to breathe. This fate is what awaits hundreds of marine mammals, including endangered sperm whales, and other ocean life in waters off of California. What's more, the government is allowing the drift gillnet swordfish fishery to continue operating in clear violation of federal law, without adequate protections in place for sperm whales and other species.
Fishermen use mile-long drift gillnets to catch swordfish and thresher sharks in waters off of California. Floating beneath the surface, these nets soak through the night, catching open-ocean animals that swim into them. Nicknamed "walls of death" in the conservation community, drift gillnets entangle roughly 100 marine mammals every year, along with sea turtles, thousands of sharks, and other economically important fish. In 2011, for every five swordfish the fishery landed, one marine mammal was killed and six fish — including sharks and tunas — were tossed overboard dead or dying.
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