Articles

Action Needed on the High Seas: Turtles on the Precipice of Extinction
by Leeanne

The largest living reptile on Earth, weighing up to 2,000 pounds and reaching as much as nine feet in length, the leatherback sea turtle has been around for more than 100 million years. Not until humans began our destruction of the Earth did the leatherback start a precipitous decline in number. Female nesting leatherbacks have declined by 97 percent in the Pacific just in the past 25 years. Overall, the species is currently facing extinction within as little as five years.

The highest sources of adult mortality amongst leatherbacks are due to industrialized fishing practices, particularly longline fishing methods. Other sea turtle species, such as loggerhead and green sea turtles, are also suffering in numbers-partially because of longlining. All of the world's seven sea turtle species are in danger of extinction.

Longline fishing is a practice that kills millions of sea animals annually, many of whom are not even the target species but rather "bycatch" or "incidental take." Sea turtles fall into the latter category. Every year, an alarming number of leatherback sea turtles get caught on longline fishing hooks that are primarily used to catch swordfish. Sea turtles need air to breathe. When they get caught on a hook and are unable to surface for air, the turtles drown before they're hauled onto the fishing boats. Longlining became a popular method of fishing back in the 1980s, partly in response to the increasing demand for high-quality, high-value swordfish destined for the clientele of upscale restaurants in Japan, Europe and the US.

Many nations have fishing vessels engaged in longlining, and the fisheries of particular concern are those targeting swordfish, tuna, sharks and the Patagonian toothfish (also sold as Chilean sea bass, Antarctic black hake or mero). During line setting, longliners set a single line that stretches up to 60 miles behind the boat. Attached to it are literally thousands of baited hooks. An estimated one to 10 billion hooks are set annually by the world's longline fleets-more than five million hooks per day.

The industry claims that longlining produces very little bycatch and that many species are still alive when caught and then released back into the ocean. In most cases, however, this is far from the truth. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conservatively reports that shallow longline fishing captures and kills more than four million sea turtles, sharks, seabirds (such as albatross) and billfish (including blue marlin) annually. More than 1,000 marine mammals are killed daily by industrial fishing methods, including sea lions, whales, dolphins and porpoises.

While some countries either partially or fully ban longlining within their waters, there are at least 40 countries engaged in longlining and additional illegal operations pillaging the high seas. Even seemingly small operations are contracted out to large-scale corporations, and many times these vessels are essentially pirate operations, changing their country of registration at the drop of a hat whenever they are caught in an illegal act.

We need to confront this issue where it began-with the greedy corporations exploiting our oceans for profit. An amazing species such as the leatherback should not be allowed to go extinct just because we couldn't act in time.

Groups like the Sea Turtle Restoration Project (STRP) are doing a great job educating the public about this issue and pushing the powers that be for stricter regulations (such as working to encourage the United Nations and President Bush to enact an international ban on destructive fishing practices, including longlining). STRP also occasionally hosts demonstrations-for example, the time they deployed a massive banner and hung notices on the doors of executives' hotel rooms at a National Fisheries Institute conference that said: "Do Not Disturb the Oceans."

The work of the crew onboard the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship, the Farley Mowat, is an example of another tactic that could be utilized. While patrolling the world's oceans, the crew will confiscate longlines and free any critter that has had the misfortune of being caught on one of the lines' huge hooks. But this is only one ship, with limited resources, and there are thousands of miles of longline set every day. Those with the proper resources, especially a boat and navigation experience, could undertake marine-based actions. SCUBA divers could enlist their dive buddies and dive boat operators for assistance in locating and confiscating longlines.

Actions at the headquarters of the companies profiting from the sale of target species is another tactic. And, of course, if you eat "seafood," you are only contributing to the problem. Stop now, and get your friends and family to do the same. Hold demonstrations at restaurants and grocery stores that sell longline-caught species such as swordfish. (STRP recently led a successful campaign against Red Lobster to drop swordfish from its menu.) Write letters to the profiteers of this industry. Let them know that you won't be purchasing their products, tell them why and that you'll be encouraging others to do the same. Be creative and vocal while communicating that there's no more room for compromise. With only five years left, its either them or the turtles. I'm cheering for the turtles.

One potential target is the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), "the leading trade association for the fish and seafood industry." NFI can be reached at 7918 Jones Branch Dr, Ste 700, McLean, VA 22102; (703) 752-8880; (703) 752-7583 (fax). NFI's 2005 spring conference is April 16-19 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

For more information, contact STRP, (415) 488-0370; www.seaturtles.org; or the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, (360) 370-5650; www.seashepherd.org.

This article originally appeared in the March-April 2005 issue of the Earth First! Journal. For more information, visit.