Backgrounder: Net Casualties

Net Casualties, a new report by Oceana, tallies for the first time the total number of sea turtles that the federal government authorizes commercial fisheries in the United States to harm or kill. The following are the key findings of Oceana's report:

• The government gave commercial fisheries permission to kill nearly 10,000 sea turtles and harm an additional 334,000 turtles each year. These fisheries occur throughout the range of waters under United States jurisdiction and employ a variety of gear types.
  

• Fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico are responsible for the largest numbers of dead and injured sea turtles in the United States-six fisheries are permitted to kill more than 9,000 sea turtles and harm more than 333,000. The shrimp trawl fishery alone accounts for the vast majority of sea turtles that the government allows all U.S. fisheries to harm.
  

• Fourteen fisheries in the northeast region are permitted to kill 546 sea turtles and harm an additional 908 each year. The Atlantic sea scallop fishery has the greatest impacts on sea turtles in this area because of its heavy dredge gear and accounts for nearly 90 percent of the sea turtles allowed to be killed in the region.
  

• In the Pacific, five fisheries are allowed to kill 72 sea turtles and harm an additional 230 each year. The numbers of sea turtles affected by fisheries in the Pacific are lower, but are particularly significant because of the critically endangered status of the Pacific leatherback, which scientists predict could go extinct within the next 30 years; the pelagic longline fisheries, which target swordfish, tuna, and shark, are responsible for the majority of the sea turtles killed in this region.

To reach these conclusions, Oceana conducted a review of the most recent Biological Opinion for each of the 25 fisheries in which the government provided authorizations to harm and kill sea turtles. Biological Opinions are issued by the government as part of the process required by the Endangered Species Act to ensure that activities do not jeopardize the continued existence or recovery of species on the brink of extinction. All Biological Opinions include a section that addresses the interaction with and killing of endangered species by the proposed activity. In the case of fisheries, this section gives each fishery permission to operate and to catch and kill sea turtles at stated levels.

These figures only represent the 25 fisheries that have been assessed by the federal government. The government yet to assess the catch and harm to sea turtles in many other fisheries, including many managed by states. In addition, these figures do not include the numbers of sea turtles the government allows to be harmed by other actions, such as dredging, beach restoration, coastal development, and oil and gas exploration.

Sea Turtles at Risk
All six species of sea turtles found in U.S. waters are listed as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. "Dirty fishing" by commercial fishing operations is one of the greatest threats to their survival. Each year, commercial fishing operations in the United States capture and kill thousands of sea turtles. Sea turtles are long-lived, but reach reproductive maturity late in life. As a result of predators and other natural risks, relatively few sea turtles survive to maturity and even fewer turtles live to reproduce. Consequently, minimizing sea turtle mortality from human activities, such as commercial fishing, is especially critical.

Laws Protecting Sea Turtles
One of the principal laws protecting sea turtles in U.S. waters is the Endangered Species Act, which was enacted more than 30 years ago. However, some sea turtle populations continue to decline because the government does not fully implement the law and sufficiently protect sea turtles from commercial fishing operations and other human activities. The Endangered Species Act prohibits the harm or killing of any endangered or threatened species. The federal government can provide special exceptions to allow for human activities, such as fishing, but only if it determines that allowing the harm or kill of sea turtles will not impede the population's recovery or cause even further decline. The government issues "Incidental Take Statements" for individual fisheries, which provide government authorization to commercial fishing operations to harm or kill a specified number of sea turtles. However, the government has never added up the total number of sea turtles it allows each fishery to catch in order to ensure that the total activity by all fisheries is not pushing turtles to extinction. Worse yet, when fisheries catch their authorized number of sea turtles, the government continues to allow fishing activity even if more turtles are caught.


Contacts:
Bianca DeLille, 202-904-9046, bdelille@oceana.org

For more information, visit www.oceana.org/seaturtles