February 10, 2021 — A bipartisan bill to end the use of drift gillnets to catch swordfish has been reintroduced in the U.S. Senate a month after then-President Donald Trump vetoed similar legislation.
U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) refiled their bill, entitled the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, on Monday, 8 February. The bill calls for a ban on using the mile-long nets that reach 200 feet below the ocean surface.
February 9, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV):
U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), today reintroduced the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, a bipartisan bill to phase out harmful large mesh drift gillnets used in federal waters off the coast of California – the only place the nets are still used in the United States.
Large mesh drift gillnets, which are between a mile and a mile-and-a-half long and can extend 200 feet below the ocean surface, are left in the ocean overnight to catch swordfish and thresher sharks. However, at least 60 other marine species, including whales, dolphins, sea lions, sea turtles, fish and sharks, can also become entangled in the large mesh net “walls,” injuring or killing them. Most of these animals, referred to as bycatch, are then discarded. The use of large mesh drift gillnets by a single fishery based in California is responsible for 90 percent of the dolphins and porpoises killed along the West Coast and Alaska.
“While the use of driftnets is already prohibited off the coasts of most states, these tools are still injuring or killing a whole host of marine animals off California’s coast,” Senator Capito said. “I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation that will help ensure large mesh driftnets are no longer used in any U.S. waters, protecting our marine wildlife from this harmful practice.”
“Let’s be clear: the Senate unanimously passed our bill and the House passed it shortly thereafter. There is no support to continue using these deadly nets in our waters,” Senator Feinstein said. “Large mesh driftnets indiscriminately kill whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea turtles and other marine animals. It’s time to transition the industry to more efficient, sustainable and profitable methods. Real-time data shows other fishing gear is more successful, profitable and sustainable. Now that we have a new administration, I’m hopeful that Congress will quickly pass our bill and we can begin to phase driftnets out.”
The bill would phase out the use of the nets and help the industry transition to more sustainable methods like deep-set buoy gear that uses a hook-and-buoy system. Deep-set buoy gear attracts swordfish with bait and alerts fishermen immediately when a bite is detected. Testing has shown that as much as 98 percent of animals caught with deep-set buoys are actually swordfish, resulting in far less bycatch than large mesh drift gillnets, which average a 50 percent catch rate of target species.
A seven-year study by the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research found that fishing vessels using the new deep-set buoy gear caught 83 percent more swordfish than those using traditional large mesh drift gillnets. Also, because vessels are alerted as soon as there is a bite, swordfish are transported to markets faster than with large mesh drift gillnets, resulting in higher-quality products that bring a higher price.
January 5, 2021 — President Donald Trump has vetoed a bill that would have phased out large-mesh drift gillnets in federal waters. In his veto message, he suggested that the bill would increase reliance on imported seafood, worsen the trade deficit and “not achieve its purported conservation benefits.”
Driftnets are prone to a high rate of bycatch, including protected marine mammals and sea turtles. In the U.S., the nets are used exclusively by about 20 vessels to catch swordfish and sharks in federal waters off the coast of California. Swordfish is the primary target species, but it only accounts for about one out of eight animals caught by the nets, according to the nonprofit Turtle Island Restoration Network. An estimated two thirds of all animals caught are discarded, including about 60 whales and dolphins per year – more cetacean mortality than all other West Coast fisheries combined.
The Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, sponsored by Sen. Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), would have phased out driftnets and helped affected fishermen to acquire deep-set buoy gear. Deep-set buoy fishing involves deploying a trio of buoys connected to one extra-long line, which hangs down to 1,000 feet of water depth – the region where swordfish spend the daylight hours. By fishing deep and frequently tending their buoys, fishermen can catch high-quality swordfish without landing shallow-swimming sea turtles and dolphins, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts.
January 4, 2021 — U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, 1 January, vetoed a bill that would have banned the use of driftnets in federal waters off the California coast.
The move means lawmakers will need to start efforts anew to pass legislation that mirrors what California lawmakers passed in 2018, as a new U.S. Congress was sworn into office on Sunday, 3 January.
January 2, 2021 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the White House:
TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES:
I am returning, without my approval, S. 906, the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act. America’s fishermen have made great sacrifices to ensure that our Nation’s marine fisheries are a sustainable economic engine for coastal communities. Under my Administration, the number of United States fish stocks subject to overfishing is at a historic low. This achievement is the result of a transparent and collaborative regulatory process that is supported by regional fishery management councils. At council meetings, fishermen work with Federal Government and State government representatives to meet their statutory obligations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
In passing S. 906, the Congress has ignored the fact that the regional fishery management process has had strong, bipartisan support since its creation. By forcing the West Coast drift gillnet fishery to use alternative gear that has not been proven to be an economically viable substitute for gillnets, the Congress is effectively terminating the fishery. As a result, an estimated 30 fishing vessels, all of which are operated by family-owned small businesses, will no longer be able to bring their bounty to shore. At a time when our Nation has a seafood trade deficit of nearly $17 billion, S. 906 will exacerbate this imbalance.
Further, S. 906 will not achieve its purported conservation benefits. The West Coast drift gillnet fishery is subject to robust legal and regulatory requirements for environmental protection that equal or exceed the environmental protections that apply to foreign fisheries. Without this fishery, Americans will import more swordfish and other species from foreign sources that frequently have more bycatch than our own fisheries. If the Congress wants to address bycatch, it should insist on a level playing field for imported seafood instead of crushing American fishing families.
My Administration has done more for American fishermen than any President before me. On May 7, 2020, I signed an Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth to bolster our domestic seafood industry while curbing illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing abroad. On June 5, 2020, I issued a Proclamation on Modifying the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to open it to commercial fishing that is conducted in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws, regulations, and requirements. And as fishermen struggled to stay on the water during the pandemic, I issued a Memorandum on Protecting the United States Lobster Industry and later made approximately $530 million available, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Seafood Trade Relief Program, to support the United States seafood industry and fishermen affected by retaliatory tariffs from foreign governments.
My Administration would support provisions of the enrolled bill, if passed separately, which would authorize fee collection in a different fishery — the Pacific Halibut fishery. This authority is needed to implement a provision of the International Pacific Halibut Commission Convention, to which the United States is a party. However, for the sake of American fishermen nationwide, I will not let the Congress circumvent the fisheries management process by effectively terminating a fishery without appropriate consultation and input from fishery management councils. If this occurred, it would increase our reliance on imported seafood and take away the livelihoods of hard-working Americans and their family businesses. It is my duty to return S. 906 to the Senate without my approval.
DONALD J. TRUMP
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 1, 2021.
December 16, 2020 — The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act (S. 906) to phase out large-scale driftnet fishing in federal waters off California.
Authored in the Senate by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and in the House by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), the bill passed the U.S. Senate in July and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.
The Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act will align commercial swordfish fishing in California with other U.S. and international swordfish fisheries by ending the use of mile-long large-mesh drift gillnets.
Phasing out this indiscriminate gear and replacing it with a more sustainable fishing practice will result in increased economic benefits and less bycatch, including marine mammals, sea turtles and many recreationally important fish species.