An emergency fisheries closure to protect threatened sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico was announced Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA. Conservation groups were pleased with the move, but commercial fishermen said many small businesses will go under as a result.
The six-month closure imposed by NOAA’s Fisheries Service will require the commercial reef fish longline fleet to fish seaward of a line approximating the 50-fathom (300 foot) contour in the Gulf of Mexico. Current regulations require this fleet to fish seaward of 20-fathoms.
The temporary closure rule takes effect on May 18.
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council requested this emergency rule after a NOAA observer study documented the reef fish longline fleet was catching and killing too many threatened loggerhead sea turtles while fishing for other species.