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Hooked Lines May be the End of
Rare Turtles
Costa Rica and more than 1 000
scientists from around the world
will ask the United Nations on
Monday to ban a form of
industrial fishing they say
menaces an endangered sea turtle
and other marine creatures.
The technique, known as longline
fishing, is used by large
fishing vessels in the Pacific
Ocean that trail lines studded
with hooks that can stretch out
as long as 100km behind them.
The main problem with the
technique is that it is
indiscriminate, according to its
foes.
Tuna and swordfish are the most
common targets, but the lines
also snag as many as 4,4 million
sea turtles, bullfish, sharks,
marine mammals and seabirds
every year, according to a study
of the practice conducted for
Costa Rica by Robert Ovetz of
the California-based Sea Turtle
Restoration Project.
One of the hardest-hit creatures
is the migratory leatherback sea
turtle, whose numbers in the
Pacific have declined by 95
percent since 1980, according to
Ovetz.
Scientists warn the leatherback
could disappear in five to 30
years unless fishing techniques
are altered.
Because it is migratory,
travelling thousands of
kilometres every year to nest,
international action is required
to save it, according to the
study.
The question of sustainable
fishing practices will be one of
several controversial practices
on the agenda next week when
delegates from 148 nations meet
at UN headquarters in New York
for consultations on oceans and
marine law.
The conference will also focus
on trash in the ocean and how to
discourage dumping.
Longline fishing is practiced by
vessels from many nations
including the United States,
Japan, Taiwan, Spain and other
Asian and Latin American
nations.
The value of its take at
dockside is estimated at
$4-billion to $5-billion a year.
Supporting Costa Rica's stand, 1
007 scientists from 97 countries
have signed a letter to meeting
participants urging decisive UN
action to ban all fishing
techniques that menace the
leatherback "until such
activities can be conducted
without harm to the species".
Also backing the initiative are
281 private organizations from
62 countries
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