Tag Archives: Turtle Island Restoration Network
Court: Trump Administration Unlawfully OK’d Longline Fishing Off California
The ruling released late Friday responds to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network after the fishing permit issued in April exempted vessels from the federal ban on longline gear off California. Longlines stretch up to 60 miles, with thousand of baited hooks intended to catch swordfish and tuna. >click to read< 07:52
Feds Tap 300,000 Square Miles of Pacific for Humpback Whales
The proposed rule is the result of a settlement with the National Marine Fisheries Service, who were sued last year for not following through on a 2016 plan to designate two groups of Pacific Ocean humpback whales as endangered and a third group as threatened. The Center for Biological Diversity, joined by Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Wishtoyo Foundation, filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California claiming the lack of action by the Trump administration violated the Endangered Species Act. >click to read< 16:25
Leatherback sea turtles likely to go extinct under Trump administration policy, lawsuit argues
Leatherback sea turtles are likely to be “effectively extinct within 20 years” if two new federal permits for fishing off the coast of California go into effect, environmental groups claim in a new lawsuit. In April, the Trump administration granted new two-year “exempted fishing permits” to two California-based vessels in what are currently protected waters.,,, National Marine Fisheries Service,,, the federal agency said the permits “are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat.” The longline fishing will have to halt immediately if “one mortality of a leatherback sea turtle is observed.>click to read<14:03
CALIFORNIA VOTES TO MAKE ITSELF MORE RELIANT ON IMPORTED FISH
California lawmakers passed legislation that would ban drift nets and help save endangered sea animals, but critics argue such a ban would ultimately have the opposite effect.,,, “I don’t know what I’d do,” Mike Flynn — who has depended on drift gill nets to capture swordfish for 40 years — said in a statement to NBC Bay Area. “There’s very few of us left, and we don’t seem to have a chance … we’re being villainized, unjustly.”,, The campaign to ban large drift nets in California began several years ago. Environmental groups — Mercy for Animals, Sea Legacy, Turtle Island Restoration Network and others,,sent a team of photographers underwater with the goal of capturing heart-wrenching pictures of trapped fish. The photos were used by activists to demand a ban. >click to read< In a related post about the photographer, SHOCKER: National Geographic admits they were wrong about “starving polar bear” video – >click to read<10:01
Trump administration settles lawsuit, agrees to protect humpback whale habitat
The suit by the Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation, a nonprofit that represents American Indian tribes, was settled Friday in federal court in San Francisco. The National Marine Fisheries Service agreed to designate critical habitat for the animals by mid-2019 and finalize those boundaries a year later. It means the migration routes of three endangered or threatened populations of humpbacks on the West Coast will be protected. >click to read<09:40
Hawaii’s commercial swordfish fleet shut down for rest of year
Hawaii’s commercial swordfish fleet has been shut down for the rest of the year following a court order aimed at protecting endangered loggerhead sea turtles. The National Marine Fisheries Service closed the Hawaii shallow-set longline fishery in a move heralded Wednesday by conservation groups that sued for the turtle protections. Under the court order the swordfish fishery will close, and a new biological assessment will determine what the limit will be next year. “It’s a good result for all parties,” said Jim Cook, board member with the Hawaii Longline Association. >click to read<10:51
Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s Failure to Protect Pacific Humpback Whales Threatened by Fishing Gear, Ship Strikes, Oil Spills
The Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network and Wishtoyo Foundation today sued the Trump administration for failing to protect humpback whale habitat in the Pacific Ocean, where the animals face threats from fisheries, ship strikes and oil spills. Today’s lawsuit, filed in federal district court in San Francisco, aims to force the National Marine Fisheries Service to follow the Endangered Species Act’s requirement to designate critical habitat within one year of listing a species as threatened or endangered and not authorize actions that,,, >click to read< 16:12
9th Circuit Gives Enviros New Way to Shut Down Hawaii Fishing Fleet
Federal agencies must rethink permitting a swordfish-catching operation to increase the use of a fishing method that can kill endangered sea turtles and seabirds, according to a decision by a federal appeals court on Tuesday. Two of the three judges on a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel agreed with the Turtle Island Restoration Network and other environmental organizations that argued the National Marine Fisheries Service acted improperly when it increased the amount of sea turtles that could be killed incidentally in the waters off of Hawaii as part of a fishing method called longlining. Specifically, the majority said the fisheries service failed to properly integrate a climate-based model that showed significant declines in the population of the loggerheads sea turtle. click here to read the story 09:06 
Pacific Fisheries Management Council Nominated for ‘Shark Enemy’ Award!
This week Turtle Island Restoration Network, a leading international marine conservation organization, and fellow environmentalists officially nominated the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) for the ‘Shark Enemy’ award by the conservation organization Sharkproject International. The PFMC was nominated for this dishonor based on the council’s anti-shark-conservation policies, most notably their decisions to continue to allow the California drift gillnet fishery to target the common thesher shark, and harm, kill and further endanger thousands of sharks. In a ten-year period ending in 2014, this the fishery caught a staggering 26,217 sharks. For over a decade, the PFMC has failed to reduce the fishery’s catastrophic bycatch of sharks to a reasonable level. (what quackery!) Read the rest here 10:52
Pacific Bluefin Tuna Heads Toward Protection
Thirteen conservation groups and a former National Fisheries biologist petitioned for federal protection for Pacific bluefin tuna, and the marine agency agreed listing may be warranted. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced Tuesday that it will begin a 12-month status review of the iconic fish as the first step in the long process to secure Endangered Species Act protection for the overfished species. The Center for Biological Diversity, a frequent petitioner and litigator on behalf of imperiled species, was joined by Earthjustice, Defenders of Wildlife, WildEarth Guardians, Sierra Club, Turtle Island Restoration Network, the Ocean Foundation, Center for Food Safety, Greenpeace, Mission Blue, Recirculating Farms Coalition, The Safina Center, SandyHook SeaLife Foundation, and Jim Chambers, a retired NMFS biologist, owner of Prime Seafood sustainable seafood restaurant supply company and member of the Seafood Choices Alliance. Read the rest here 08:42
Report: Sharks in peril off coast because of gillnets, Advocates disagree
The report, “California Driftnet Fishery: The True Costs of a 20th Century Fishery in the 21st Century,” issued by Marin’s Turtle Island Restoration Network, says the California driftnet fishery is taking a toll on shark populations. But supporters of the gillnet fishery note it is already monitored by federal authorities and question data in the report. “There are good regulations in place and the populations are strong,” said Jonathan Gonzales, president of the Ventura County Commercial Fishermen Association, adding that data show thresher shark populations are improving. “There is no overfishing like there once was. It’s really a success story.” “We see this report as highly sensational and grossly inaccurate,” said Diane Pleschner-Steele, executive director of the California Wetfish Producers Association. The California Fisheries and Seafood Institute — in a letter addressing a bill to eliminate gillnets — states 90 percent of the fish caught by nets in the swordfish fishery either go to market or are released alive. Read the story here 09:51
Turtle Island Restoration Network sponsors bill to phase out gill nets, moves forward in Legislature
Marin’s Turtle Island Restoration Network has sponsored Senate Bill 1114, which would phase out the use of gill nets in favor of another method that better targets what the gill nets seek: swordfish. The change would prevent turtles, whales, dolphins, sharks and pinnipeds from being taken, the group says. The bill was approved by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water earlier this month, the first stop during its journey in the Legislature. An appropriations committee is expected to take it up next month before more votes. “Despite the fact that Pacific leatherback sea turtles are the largest sea turtles on the planet, they are no match for the driftnet fishery,” said Peter Fugazzotto, Turtle Island’s program manager. “This deadly fishery has been operating at too high of a cost to marine wildlife.” Read the rest here 11:48
Hawaii’s longline fleet dodges hurricanes – Can they survive the Enviro Tsunami?
Bigeye tuna caught by Hawaii’s longline industry is in short supply right now as the fleet dodges Hurricane Ignacio and Hurricane Jimena. Some longline vessels that headed out, turned around without catching anything to avoid the powerful storms. In August, Hawaii’s longline fleet hit the bigeye tuna catch limit of 3,502 metric tons established by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Conservation groups, however, have filed a lawsuit to block the change,,, Video, Read the rest here 08:23
National Marine Fisheries Service deny petition from radical environmentalists to ban cod fishing
A group of radical environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace petitioned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service to shut down the fishery until it shows rebuilding progress. The agency said in a denial published in the Federal Register on July 10 that the current restrictions on cod fishing will “provide sufficient protection” to rebuild the stock. The denial also states that the fisheries service intends to monitor updated information about the cod stock,,, Read the rest here 18:02
Enviros Petition for Immediate and Permanent Rule Making to Prohibit Fishing for Gulf of Maine Cod
Today’s petition, filed under the Administrative Procedure Act, urges the Fisheries Service to follow the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requirement to rebuild overfished species. The called for the Fisheries Service to prohibit fishing for Gulf of Maine cod, allowing catch only incidental to other targeted fish, and reduce such bycatch to levels that allow the cod population to rebuild. Read the rest here 13:33
Democrat Lawmakers & Conservation Groups Call for Phase Out of California Drift Gillnets
Sacramento (Dec. 22, 2014) – With the full support of Turtle Island Restoration Network, OCEANA and other marine conservations organizations, California Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) and Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay), Assemblymember Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara), Assemblymember Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel) today called on the Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service to transition away from deadly California drift gillnets. Read the rest here 22:13
The Chuckleheads are planning another Lawsuit. – Marin group plans suit to help protect sperm whales
(They just went through this.) “These endangered sperm whales should be protected from these gillnets,” said Joanna Nasar, spokeswoman for the Turtle Island Restoration Network. “It’s time for the fisheries service to stop these nets from being used.” <Read more here> 22:23
Bill would ban drift gillnets in California – “This is really a moral imperative,” Geoff Shester, Oceana
SACRAMENTO — Some Assembly Democrats on Thursday took steps toward ending California’s drift gillnet fishery, introducing a bill that would effectively ban the controversial gear for boats operating along the West Coast.This week, Oceana announced a $3 million grant from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation to protect ocean habitat and key species, including sharks. Read more@montereyherald 12:24
Gang Green Extorting NMFS – Speed up sea turtle analysis – Or Pay Our Litigators.
The Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network, Sea Turtle Conservancy and Oceana contend that shrimp nets in the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Atlantic drown more than 53,000 threatened and endangered sea turtles a year. A letter sent Wednesday began a 60-day settlement period required before suing under the Endangered Species Act. Read [email protected] 07:13:54
Bay Area enviros target use of drift gill nets – litigation threat from Oceana, Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network
SANTA CRUZ – Calling them “curtains of death,” Bay Area environmentalists have put the federal government on notice that they intend to sue to halt the controversial use of drift gill nets for commercial fishing. Sometimes more than a mile long, the nets are used in the waters off California to catch shark and swordfish. But because they can sweep up unintended catch – including rare and endangered species such as sperm whales and leatherback sea turtles – environmentalists have long criticized their use. “Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is eliminate drift gill nets from being used off the California coast altogether,” said Dr. Geoff Shester, California program director for Monterey-based Oceana. “These are the lions and tigers of our blue Serengeti, but here we are allowing this fishery to continue.” The litigation threat comes from Oceana and the San Francisco-based Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network – groups that have pushed aggressively for everything from fishery changes to marine habitat protections to designation of the endangered leatherbacks as California’s official marine reptile. In operation since 1980, the drift gill net fishery has long been under fire from environmentalists. While allowed under federal law, both Oregon and Washington have banned them along their coasts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it was too early to comment on the potential suit, which would be filed under the Endangered Species Act. “We’re still evaluating it,” NOAA spokesman Jim Milburn said. In announcing the suit, environmentalists said they are concerned that two endangered sperm whales were caught by a drift gill net in December 2010. Based on,,,,,,,,Read More http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_21483913/bay-area-enviros-target-use-drift-gill-nets
