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Fishing planet/california2/29/2024 ![]() ![]() The negative impact that the swordfish industry has on the marine ecosystem was brought to the attention of the public in April by a video of behind-the-scenes footage of the industry created by Nicklen’s team at SeaLegacy. ![]() The lack of nuance with which driftnets kill makes the California swordfish industry one of the most unsustainable and environmentally damaging, according to Nicklen.Ī new fishing method called deep-set buoy gear has proven to out-perform driftnets while minimizing bycatch, meaning there is no excuse to continue the use of driftnets, Oceana reports. “These driftnets are over a mile long, 100 feet deep, and designed to kill everything in their path,” Paul Nicklen, co-founder of conservation group SeaLegacy, stated on their website. ![]() Often the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, these nets hang in the ocean like an invisible wall, entangling anything that swims too close. The reason that driftnets kill so indiscriminately is that their outdated design does not ensnare only targeted species. Most animals caught in driftnets do not survive, and bycatch is usually thrown overboard dead or dying. This means that a majority of animals caught were bycatch, non-target species including whales, dolphins, sharks, seals, and turtles. The new regulations are a crucial development in sustainable fishing, in light of a 2016 report by the Turtle Island Restoration Network finding that swordfish accounted for less than half of the animals caught in the fishery’s driftnets over the past decade. The new law will effectively reform this fishery, and in doing so reforms the state’s swordfish industry. fishery still utilizing the harmful nets, according to National Geographic. The California Driftnet Fishery, which harvests swordfish on a majority of the state’s coast, is the only U.S. The new law will phase out the large-scale driftnets used to catch swordfish, institute a buyout program, and incentivize the use of more sustainable fishing methods, conservation group Oceana reports. ![]() Jerry Brown signed a bill into law that will make swordfish fishing more sustainable by banning the industry’s use of driftnets in state waters. ![]()
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