- Shop at the Sea Turtle Store
- Ways to Donate

Protect Spawning Bluefin Tuna and Endangered Sea Turtles By Closing the Gulf Surface Longline Fishery

Thank you to all who helped us send thousands of comments in by the February 12th deadline! Please add your name to our list of supporters for this issue by completing the action below.

The Gulf of Mexico longline fishery kills both endangered sea turtles and imperiled bluefin tuna in their high seas migratory and spawning areas. To reduce unsustainable bycatch of bluefin critical to the Atlantic populations’ continued existence, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has proposed switching to experimental “weak hooks” that should bend and release the largest bycatch. This unproven fishing gear is a weak solution to a serious problem.

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Like Sea Turtles, May Soon Be Endangered

Just last month NMFS advised adding Atlantic bluefin tuna to the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Their only spawning ground is polluted with BP oil, their population is relentlessly attacked by commercial fisheries, and the latest NMFS solution is “weak hooks.” A strong solution is needed to ensure the survival of these beautiful fish and the injured ecosystem they depend on, and that strong solution is the closure of the deadly longline fishing fleet.

Gulf Longlines Kill Sea Turtles, Threaten Many Fisheries

The Sea Turtle Restoration Project is engaged in an ongoing battle to end longline fishing in the Gulf, home to four species of endangered sea turtles. Gulf longline fishing kills hundreds of sea turtles each year and continues harming populations of bluefin tuna and sturgeon at a time when all Gulf marine life is in recovery from the BP oil spill.

PHOTOS: (top) Bluefin tuna, credit NOAA. (bottom) A loggerhead sea turtle hooked and killed on a longline boat fishing for swordfish, credit Mar Mas/Oceana.

Sign the letter below to NMFS

Write your own letter at regulations.gov

Subject:

Your Letter:

Dear Ms. Margo Schulze-Haugen and NMFS Staff,

The recent proposal to use “weak hooks” as a single solution to reduce bluefin bycatch does not adequately address the severity of the issue, and I urge you to take immediate action to close the Gulf of Mexico pelagic surface longline fishery to achieve your goals.

The “weak hooks” are an unproven experimental solution that would be costly and difficult to enforce at sea. There is a lack of direct evidence that “weak hooks” will reduce bluefin bycatch, and while it is logical that their use would decrease the landings of the largest fish, they will provide no insurance whatsoever against the continued catch and killing of smaller bluefin tuna vital to sustaining their healthy population.

Gulf longlines injure and kill hundreds of endangered sea turtles, marine mammals, and non-target fishes each year. Their indiscriminate killing is doing further damage to a marine ecosystem in need of recovery and restoration after the BP oil spill. Recently, Atlantic bluefin tuna has been proposed to be added to the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

I strongly support swift and decisive action to close the Gulf of Mexico pelagic longline fishery for the protection of imperiled bluefin tuna, endangered sea turtles, and all marine life killed as bycatch by this fishery.

Sincerely,