California’s Deadliest Catch
The Secret Driftnet Fishery for Swordfish and Shark Off Our Coast
by Todd Steiner, Executive Director, Turtle Island Restoration Network
Few Americans realize that a deadly driftnet fishery targeting swordfish and shark operates off the California coast with fatal consequences for ocean wildlife.
Driftnets, which have been described as “curtains of death,” were banned on the high seas by the United Nations in the 1994. On the West Coast, Oregon and Washington have banned this deadly and unsustainable fishery, but unbeknownst to the public, they are still legal in California–plying our waters out of sight and out of mind.
In a new expose entitled, “CALIFORNIA’S DEADLIEST CATCH: The Drift Gillnet Fishery for Swordfish and Shark,” author Teri Shore lays out the impact this fishery is having on the discarded catch of whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and scores of fish species and outlines a plan of action to end this destructive fishery.…