DRIFT GILLNETTERS DENIED ACCESS TO
LEATHERBACK CONSERVATION AREA

2/08  In June of 2007, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) informed the Pacific Fishery Management Council that it would not issue an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) that would have allowed 20-40 drift gillnet vessels to target swordfish and thresher sharks in the Pacific Leatherback Conservation Area (Conservation Area). Enacted in 2001 by NMFS to protect endangered leatherback sea turtles and marine mammals, the Conservation Area extends from the waters off Monterey, CA to the mid-Oregon coast and is closed to drift gillnet vessels from August 15-November 15 of each year.

NCMC had opposed the EFP and testified before the Pacific Council, insisting that the Council consider not just the protection of mammals and sea turtles but also the wide range of other species that have indirectly benefited from the area closure. Drift gillnets are highly indiscriminate, resulting in significant and unavoidable bycatch of blue sharks, albacore tuna, ocean sunfish and striped marlin. Despite overwhelming opposition to the EFP application, in November 2006, the Pacific Council recommended that NMFS issue the permit for the 2007 fishing season.

NMFS Considers Designating Area as Critical Habitat under Endangered Species Act

To prevent future attempts to lift the area closure, groups are working to solidify year-round protection through the Endangered Species Act. A petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Oceana, and the Turtle Island Restoration Network asks NMFS to designate the Conservation Area as critical habitat for the Pacific Leatherback. By law, areas designated as critical habitat must be managed for the recovery of the endangered species. On December 28, 2007, NMFS found that the petition merits further consideration and will conduct a detailed review to be completed by September 2008.

Scientists estimate that Pacific leatherback sea turtles face an annual mortality of 30 percent every year and may be extinct in the next decade. In the letter to the Pacific Council rejecting the driftnet EFP, NMFS Southwest Regional Administrator Rodney McInnis referred to a recent scientific study conducted by NMFS and California State University scientists documenting the importance of California's nearshore waters for leatherbacks feeding on jellyfish, their preferred prey. The Conservation Area likely provides safe passage for the sea turtles to travel to their foraging grounds. Since the Conservation Area was enacted as an emergency measure in 2001, not a single gillnet related leatherback mortality has occurred.

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