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Turtle protection measure refined for NMI vessels
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Posted on Jan 27 2005
The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council voted yesterday to allow federally permitted longline vessels in the CNMI, Guam or American Samoa with freeboards less than three feet to carry short-handled gear to dehook turtles that are incidentally caught.
The council said that fishing regulations designed to protect sea turtles accidentally caught in federal waters should be refined to reflect vessel size and gear type.
The change was adopted after it was deemed that the long-handled dehookers, which must be at least three feet long or the length of the boat’s freeboard, are unwieldy on a small vessel and could pose risks to the safety of the turtles.
Under the second recommendation, operators of non-longline vessels (i.e., handline, troll and pole-and-line vessels) targeting open-ocean fish in federal water would be able to release live turtles from any point on the vessel where there is no deployed gear nearby. Longliners would continue to be required to release live turtles from the stern only.
While voting in favor of these measures, council members from the CNMI and Guam noted that federal regulations forbidding the consumption of incidentally caught sea turtles that cannot be resuscitated is a waste of a natural resource and goes against Pacific Island tradition and culture.
Council member Ben Sablan of the CNMI also noted that federal jurisdiction of waters surrounding CNMI is being litigated at the 9th Circuit Court. The U.S. government has claimed that federal waters extend to shore, while CNMI has argued that waters 0 to 3 miles from shore are territorial waters.
Sierra Weaver of the Ocean Conservancy thanked the council for taking these measures. She said the Conservatory supports the recommended measures and the Council’s efforts to protect sea turtles.
The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council is the policy-making agency for fisheries management in federal waters (3 to 200 miles offshore) around Hawaii and other U.S. Pacific Islands. Council recommendations are forwarded to the Secretary of Commerce for approval.
For more information, contact the council at (808) 522-8220 (voice), (808) 522-8226 (fax) or info@wpcouncil.org.
