Nantucket Sound location of most fatal turtle entanglements
By Aug. 1, Chatham fisherman Jamie Eldredge has pulled the 200 conch pots he has in Nantucket Sound. He has made the summer switch to fishing for dogfish in the Atlantic Ocean. In doing so, Eldredge has avoided what has become a major headache for conch fishermen – large leatherback turtles that get tangled up in conch and lobster lines while pursuing jellyfish. In Nantucket Sound, a significant number of those turtles die, three times more than anywhere else in Massachusetts, and state fishery scientists are worried they may be targeted by a lawsuit charging they are not doing enough to protect an endangered species. In a series of public hearings held in coastal and island communities this month, they asked conch fishermen for input on how to deal with the problem. State Division of Marine Fisheries officials think they know the answer: pull all conch pots in August. Continue read the story here 10:35
Leave a Reply