Managers Delay Final Recommendations on Sea Turtle Interactions with Hawaii Swordfish Fishery
Hawaii longline swordfish fishermen will start 2019 under some old rules for sea turtle interactions, thanks to the lack of a new biological opinion on leatherback and loggerhead turtles.
The fishery is scheduled to reopen on Jan. 1, 2019, with allowable interactions of 26 leatherbacks and 17 loggerheads. Should either interaction level be reached, the fishery will close for the remainder of 2019, unless the biological opinion currently in development allows for higher interaction levels and NMFS implements new regulations, according to a press release ...
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