New Requirements for Bottom Longline Fishery Would Protect Sea Turtles and Reef Habitat This
Public hearings have been scheduled in the following locations: Ponce, Puerto Rico; St. Croix, USVI; Madeira Beach, FL; Manteo, NC; and Panama City, FL. Written comments must be received by 5pm on June 27. Comments may be sent to: SF*********@no**.gov.
For more information, contact Mi***********@no**.gov.
New Requirements for Bottom Longline Fishery Would Protect Sea Turtles and Reef Habitat
This
proposed rule would establish additional handling, release, and disentanglement requirements for non-target species caught in the shark bottom longline fishery. These new practices, which have already been adopted in the pelagic longline fishery, are designed to reduce the injuries and deaths of sea turtles and other species that are accidentally hooked. In addition, the rule would implement measures that minimize impacts to Essential Fish Habitat for mutton snapper, red hind, and other reef-dwelling species, as adopted earlier by the Caribbean Fishery Management Council.Public hearings have been scheduled in the following locations: Ponce, Puerto Rico; St. Croix, USVI; Madeira Beach, FL; Manteo, NC; and Panama City, FL. Written comments must be received by 5pm on June 27. Comments may be sent to:
SF*********@no**.gov.For more information, contact Mi***********@no**.gov.