Federal regulators have voted to impose new restrictions on the commercial longline fishing fleet in the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to protect sea turtles. It is told that under the new fishery-management plan certain areas would be closed and restrict fishing to boats that have brought in large catches in the past and reduce the number of hooks that can be used during fishing trips.
This new regulation is said to cut the longline fleet in half. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s approval of the closure last night in Alabama sends the plan to the National Marine Fisheries Service for a final approval. The council temporarily shut down the longline fishery earlier this summer, and environmental groups sued the federal government in an effort to force more stringent protections for turtles.
For environmentalists the new fishing restrictions is a “victory” for the loggerhead. Dave Allison, senior campaign director at Oceana, said that the vote is a signal from the council that it’s possible to craft fisheries management plans to protect threatened and endangered sea turtles while maintaining viable commercial fisheries.
Representatives from the longline industry say the new regulations are too restrictive but said their chief concern was to avoid a “jeopardy” situation for turtles that could completely shut down the fleet.
