Phones Help California Crabbers Retrieve Gear Before it Kills Whales
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Associated Press] Ellen Knickmeyer - September 14, 2017
HALF MOON BAY, CALIF. -- Fisherman Jake Bunch leans over the side of the fishing boat "Sadie K," spears his catch, and reels it aboard: an abandoned crab pot, dangling one limp lasagna noodle of kelp and dozens of feet of rope, just the kind of fishing gear that has been snaring an increasing number of whales off U.S. coasts.
Confirmed counts of humpbacks, blue and other endangered or threatened species of whale entangled by the ropes, buoys and anchors of fishing gear hit a record 50 on the East Coast last year, and tied the record on the West Coast at 48, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The accidental entanglements can gouge whales' flesh and...
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