Scientists Concerned about Hawai'i Swordfish fishery expansion

Please join leading biologists and researchers Professor James Spotila of Drexel University, Dr. Robin Baird of Cascadia Research Collective and Professor David Ehrenfeld of Rutgers University by signing on to the

Public Comment Letter from Scientists to National Marine Fishery Service to 
Hold the Line on the Hawai’i-based Longline Fishery for Swordfish
Deadline to sign-on July 30, 2009

This petition is for members of the scientific community. If you want to oppose this expansion but are not a part of the scientific community,  please go our public petition. If you represent an organization that wants to go on record against this deadly fishery, please go to our public comment section or contact Program Director Teri Shore tshore@tirn.net

July 30, 2009 Dr. Jane Lubchenco Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration HCHB, Room 5810 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20233 Dr. James W. Balsiger Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration 1315 East-West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 RE: Expansion of Hawai‘i-based Shallow-set Longline Fishery Proposed Rule 0648-AW49 -Amendment 18 to the Fishery Management Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region Dear Dr. Lubchenco and Dr. Balsiger, As members of the international scientific community who are deeply interested in conserving protected sea turtles, marine mammals and vulnerable fish species, supporting sustainable fisheries, and ending overfishing, we are writing to express our opposition to the proposed of expansion of the Hawai‘i -based shallow-set longline fishery for swordfish. The proposed Amendment 18 to the Fishery Management Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region would remove all limits on the numbers of sets and hooks allowed in the fishery, increase pressure on overfished and data-deficient fish species, and increase the accidental capture of protected marine species including sea turtles, whales, and seabirds. The measure as proposed would triple the number of North Pacific loggerhead turtles allowed to be captured and permit more than 4 million hooks to be set on the fishery – more than twice the current number. The proposed expansion would also subject critically endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtles to continued unsustainable levels of death and injury and increase fishery pressure on vulnerable fish species including big eye and yellow fin tuna. Considerable published research has attributed the precipitous declines of leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles at all major Pacific nesting beaches to unchecked longline bycatch of these species. Sea turtles throughout the Pacific are hovering on the brink of extinction. While bycatch rates from individual longline vessels are low, the high level of longline fishing effort in the Pacific makes the cumulative bycatch of reproductively mature sea turtles a serious threat to their survival. At present, the death of even small numbers of the leatherbacks or loggerheads has serious consequences for their future survival. The best available science indicates that Pacific leatherbacks, loggerheads, and other species simply cannot sustain the harm wrought by expansion of the Hawai’i-based longline fishery for swordfish. Many species targeted by the Hawai’i longline fishery are either overfished, approaching an overfished condition or lack sufficient data to determine whether their populations are healthy and sustainable. Until estimates of stock status are more certain, the Scientific Committee of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission recommends no increase in fishing effort on swordfish. Substantial quantities of bigeye and yellowfin tuna will also be caught. Both the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and U.S. stock assessment scientists have identified Pacific bigeye and yellowfin tuna populations as subject to overfishing. Increasing bigeye and yellowfin tuna catch levels defies federal law requiring that fishery managers end overfishing immediately and rebuild overfished populations. We urge NMFS, at a minimum, to reject Amendment 18 and instead maintain current set limits and hard caps on sea turtle takes. The best available science demonstrates that, instead of relaxing current conservation measures, NMFS must do more to protect these critically imperiled species, conserve marine mammals and seabirds, and provide for the rebuilding of overfished, data-poor, and vulnerable fish stocks. Thank you for considering our views. We look forward to a response. Sincerely yours, James R. Spotila Professor of Environmental Science Drexel University Pennsylvania United States of America David Ehrenfeld Professor II of Biology Dept. Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Cook Campus, Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8551 USA Robin W. Baird, Ph.D. Research Biologist Cascadia Research Collective 218 1/2 W. 4th Avenue Olympia, WA 98501 USA

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0-25 of 60 signatures

Number	Date	Name	Organization	Location
60	August 04, 2009	Clare Bradshaw	Stockholm University	Stockholm, SE
59	August 03, 2009	Scott Stark	Australian Antarctic Division	Kingston, AU
58	August 03, 2009	Cynthia Klepadlo	Scripps Inst. Oceanography	La Jolla, US
57	July 31, 2009	Stephanie Armstrong	none	Stover, US
56	July 30, 2009	Patrick Hord	Native Wildlife Solutions	La Jolla, US
55	July 30, 2009	Renee Owens	Owens Wildlife Biology, llc	San Diego, US
54	July 28, 2009	Lorne Clarke	University of British Columbia	Vancouver, CA
53	July 28, 2009	jacques moškovic	défense des animaux	marseille, FR
52	July 28, 2009	Mi P	BHBC	salem, US
51	July 26, 2009	Michael Sergeev	Novosibirsk State University	Novosibirsk, RU
50	July 22, 2009	EVANETTE OLSEN	NONE	BALTIMORE, US
49	July 22, 2009	Pamela Selway	none	Carolina Shores, US
48	July 22, 2009	C. Thomas Schaefer	Pacific Marine Research	Seattle, US
47	July 22, 2009	Abigail Moore	LP3L Talinti	Palu, ID
46	July 21, 2009	Denise Lytle	n/a	Fords, US
45	July 21, 2009	Joe Millard	Member of the World we all live in	Danville, US
44	July 21, 2009	RICHARD SHEFFIELD	AZCARM; PARQUE ZOOLOGICO DE LEON	LEON, MX
43	July 20, 2009	Margaret Kruesi	Leatherback Trust	Washington, DC, US
42	July 20, 2009	Robert Raymar	The Leatherback Trust	Watchung, US
41	July 20, 2009	Barbara McLane	none	Sunset Beach, US
40	July 20, 2009	Constance Paladino	none	Sarasota, US
39	July 20, 2009	Frank Paladino	Indiana-Purdue University	Fort Wayne, US
38	July 20, 2009	Christopher Kauffman	Scripps Inst. of Oceanography	San Diego, US
37	July 20, 2009	Alan Lewis	Earth & Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia	Vancouver, CA
36	July 20, 2009	Marija Kuljeric	Croatian Herpetological Society	Zagreb, HR

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