Southern California fresh swordfish off the menu as driftent ban imposed through August to protect turtles
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Reuters] By Steve Gorman - July 25, 2014 -
LOS ANGELES, Fresh-caught swordfish will be off the menu in California restaurants for at least the next month, due to a federally imposed temporary ban on drift gillnets in the Pacific to protect endangered sea turtles starting on Friday.
The closure, to remain in effect through Aug. 31, covers 25,000 square miles (62,160 square km) of ocean waters off Southern California that constitute the prime West Coast fishing grounds for swordfish and thresher sharks caught with gillnets.
The mile-long gillnets can inadvertantly entangle and drown sea turtles. The five-week gillnet closure will halt fishing operations for a fleet of 16 boats.
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