NMFS CONSIDERING ALLOWING LONGLINES IN THE PACIFIC

6/2/08  Once again this year, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is considering whether to issue an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) for longline fishing in federal waters off the West Coast. Strong protests from fishing groups, environmental organizations and the public helped kill this same proposal for the 2007 fishing season. NCMC is encouraging NMFS to deny the current application to longline in the 2008 or 2009 fishing season.

If granted, the EFP would allow a single vessel to target swordfish using longline gear. However, the applicant has stated the purpose of his experiment is to determine whether drift gillnet gear could be phased out in favor of establishing a longline fishery of over 70 vessels. The proposal is highly controversial because of the intolerably low standards that will be used to demonstrate that a full-scale longline fishery could be an "environmentally friendly" alternative to the tightly-restricted drift gill net fishery. The applicant claims that bycatch will be less than in the driftnet fishery, but fails to acknowledge that longline bycatch will include a long list of species for which international scientific bodies have recommended reducing or at least not increasing fishing mortality: bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna, albacore, bluefin and striped marlin (read more about the recent overfished determination for striped marlin). It would also include highly vulnerable shark species and endangered sea turtles.

NCMC recently called on its members and web visitors to write to NMFS and tell them that we will not tolerate these continued attempts by the fishing industry to circumvent important conservation measures put in place by the West Coast Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan, which bans the use of longlines.  The comment period ended May 27, 2008.

It may be several months before NMFS makes a decision. We'll keep you posted!

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Read more on our Bring Back the Big Fish program in the Pacific.

Read more on striped marlin in the Pacific.

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