Richard Rogers, president of the California Fish and Game Commission, told that the state is planning to launch a fishing expedition, 300 pounds of discards snared near 3 county piers. He informed that the expedition is not angling for tuna, squid or flounder.
In this case, the catch is tons of fishing equipment lost or discarded in the ocean every season, posing serious danger to marine life.
The fishing lines, hooks, nets, crab pots and lobster traps are blamed for killing or maiming whales, dolphins, otters, pelicans and other wildlife. It is said that few programmes in the last few years netted 11 tons of fishing equipment from around the Channel Islands and a combined 300 pounds off the Oceanside, Ocean Beach and Imperial Beach piers.
State officials working towards the recovery programme to take in the entire coast, target more piers and move inland to retrieve equipment from recreational fishing lakes. Officials were forced to temporarily ban fishing from piers in the Capitola area this month when 90 endangered brown pelicans suffered injuries after becoming entangled in fishing lines while feasting on anchovies. Dave Means, assistant executive director of the Wildlife Conservation Board the project will mark the first time in at least a half-century that the board has extended its reach into ocean waters.
Kirsten Gilardi, executive director of the SeaDoc Society and a UC Davis veterinarian, informed that the dangers posed by lost or dumped equipment are well-documented. She added that wildlife species are not the only victims; boaters, surfers and anglers are also at risk.
