PROTECT CALIFORNIA WILDLIFE FROM BYCATCH

Ocean waters off Southern California are some of the most diverse and productive marine ecosystems in the world, where cold temperate and warm sub-tropical waters converge.  

But the whales, sea lions, sea turtles, sharks, rays, skates, fish, and seabirds that migrate, feed, and reproduce here all share a common threat: the risk of becoming entangled in set gillnet fishing gear. 

Consisting of nearly invisible net panels — like underwater fencing — set gillnets can extend for more than a mile weighted to the seafloor. The mesh nets are designed to trap halibut, white sea bass, and other commercial fish by their gills. However, the nets also entangle more than 125 species of ocean animals — the majority of which are already dead or dying when they are thrown overboard as waste. 

Despite past action by California voters and fishery managers to prohibit these nets in nearshore waters, set gillnets are one of the most harmful and indiscriminate fishing methods in the country still being used throughout offshore ocean waters and around islands off Southern California, causing immense damage to wildlife. That’s why we’re asking for your help. We need your voice to urge the California Fish and Game Commission to take action to reduce bycatch and ensure that the unique ocean ecosystem off California can continue to thrive. 

PETITION LETTER:

Dear California Fish and Game Commissioners:  

I write urging you to address the unacceptable bycatch in California’s set gillnet fishery. Set gillnets are responsible for injuring and killing more than 125 species of ocean animals—most of which are tossed overboard as waste, many already dead or dying. I am concerned that set gillnet fishing gear is compromising the health and biodiversity of the unique ocean ecosystem off Southern California.  

Set gillnets are a threat to whales — including humpback and gray whales — and kill more sea lions than all other observed West Coast fisheries combined. Nearly three out of every four sharks, rays, and skates caught are tossed overboard — vulnerable and ecologically important species which grow slowly and reproduce few young. The population status for most of these species has not been assessed.   

In many respects, California is a world leader when it comes to addressing ocean health and protecting marine biodiversity. However, one of the most harmful and indiscriminate fishing methods in the country is still being allowed in ocean waters off Southern California including the Channel Islands — a globally important haven for biodiversity often referred to as “the Galapagos of North America.”  

I appreciate the Commission’s past actions to address bycatch in this fishery by prohibiting these nets in central coast waters and your current prioritization to evaluate ongoing bycatch in the set gillnet fishery off Southern California. I urge you to formally determine that the bycatch with this fishing method is unacceptable under the criteria in the Marine Life Management Act and take action to reduce bycatch and ensure that the unique ocean ecosystem off California can continue to thrive into the future.  

Sincerely,  

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}