Lawsuit Seeks Gulf Longline Fishery Closure for Turtles' Sake

"Important populations of sea turtles in the Gulf have been illegally killed by the hundreds since 2006 in flagrant violation of the Endangered Species Act," said Steve Roady, an attorney with Earthjustice, the public interest law firm representing the conservationists. "Now that the fishery is in full force for the season, it has become necessary to go to court to require the new administration to take emergency action to protect these vulnerable turtles."

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Florida targets the National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, as well as Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and James Balsinger, assistant administrator for fisheries.

In 2005, the agency determined that the Gulf of Mexico fishery could capture up to 114 sea turtles, including 85 loggerheads, during a three-year period without violating the Endangered Species Act.

But the agency has released new information estimating that vessels in the Gulf of Mexico caught nearly 1,000 turtles, including at least 782 loggerheads, between July 2006 and December 2008 – more than eight times the number allowed.

A loggerhead sea turtle at the Georgia Aquarium (Photo by Mike Gonzalez)

The plaintiff groups allege that although the agency was required to issue a report on the number of turtles captured by the bottom longline fishery every year starting in 2006, it failed to do so. As a result, the high numbers of turtles caught in longline fishing equipment was not discovered at that time and hundreds more sea turtles were captured in 2007 and 2008.

"The current emergency could have been avoided if the National Marine Fisheries Service simply had been paying attention and making adjustments in the fishery before the turtle takes soared to astronomical levels in the past several years," said Andrea Treece, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiff groups. "Now the agency's only lawful choice is to suspend the bottom longline fishery until the agency figures out how to prevent more turtles from being hurt or killed."

Bottom longline fishing uses hundreds of baited hooks along miles of lines laid behind fishing vessels and stretching down to the reef and Gulf floor. The hooks target species like grouper, tilefish, and sharks, but often catch other fish or wildlife, including endangered and threatened sea turtles.

Injuries from these hooks affect a sea turtle's ability to feed, swim, avoid predators, and reproduce. Many times the turtles drown or, unable to recover from the extreme stress of being hooked, die soon after being released from the longlines.

Following the conservation organizations' notice of its intent to sue the agency for violations of the Endangered Species Act in January, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council recommended closure of the bottom longline fishery until the National Marine Fisheries Service can ensure the protection of the turtles.

But in March, the bottom longline fishery fully re-opened for the season.

"Information indicates that the sea turtles are in trouble now. April has been a high time for turtle takes in the past and the agency has no basis for thinking they are not currently at risk," said Sierra Weaver, an attorney for Defenders of Wildlife, another of the plaintiff groups.

Florida researchers have documented a steep drop in loggerhead sea turtle nesting over the past decade.

"Loggerhead nesting in Florida has declined by nearly 41 percent in the last decade while green and leatherback turtle nesting on the very same beaches is increasing dramatically," said Marydele Donnelly of the plaintiff Caribbean Conservation Corporation. "This fishery is undermining nearly three decades of conservation work to protect loggerheads from a multitude of threats. By failing to act, the National Marine Fisheries Service is not serving as a good steward for the nation's sea turtles."

"We must end the indiscriminate killing of sea turtles," said Manley Fuller, president of the plaintiff Florida Wildlife Federation. "The adult and sub-adult turtles harmed by bottom longline fishing are simply too valuable to the overall health and survival of these populations - and we need them to be able to reach our local beaches to nest."

"The National Marine Fisheries Service has the responsibility to protect endangered and threatened turtle populations from destructive fishing practices," said Cynthia Sarthou, executive director of the plaintiff Gulf Restoration Network. "The public needs to know that no more sea turtles are killed just to put grouper on a dinner plate."

The conservation groups are calling on the Obama administration to halt the Gulf of Mexico bottom longline fishery until it can analyze what measures are necessary to comply with the Endangered Species Act.

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