Where is long lining legal

A restored ocean means that one billion people can enjoy a healthy seafood meal, every day, forever. Together, we can save the oceans and help feed the world. Visit www. Oceana seeks to reduce threats to North Atlantic right whales, including entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships. Federal Administration Approves mile fishing lines off the U.

Press Release Date Wednesday, May 8, The PMFC will create strict guidelines limiting the use of such permits, however, to ensure that they are issued only for genuine research, and not for covert commercial fishing, noted Shana Beemer, fisheries policy analyst at the National Audubon Society. A school of yellowfin tuna, one of the species sought by Pacific longliners.

Photo courtesy National Undersea Research Program. The PMFC decision affects only pelagic longline fishing, which targets species that swim freely in ocean waters, rather than living at the sea bottom. Bottom longline fishing will still be legal along the Pacific coast. Pacific pelagic longliners specifically target highly migratoryfish species, including five species of tuna, five shark species, the striped marlin, Pacific swordfish and dorado.

Russ Nelson of The Billfish Foundation. A recent study analysed data from a long-line fishing project in Galapagos. A total of 4, animals from 33 species were captured from 12 vessels. Of those, 16 species were protected megafauna including; Galapagos sharks, blacktip sharks, oceanic manta rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks, thresher sharks, silky sharks, Galapagos green sea turtles, Galapagos sea lions and Galapagos fur seals.

The biggest threat of long-line fishing in Galapagos is to sharks, which are already being targeted for their fins. The boat had more than 6, d ead sharks on board. However, a secondary threat is the need for large quantities of bait. These are usually mullet or other similar fish that are caught in coastal bays using nets. If used in shark nursery grounds, this can have a serious impact on their early life stages. The Ecuadorian government has been monitoring an international industrial fishing fleet, which has been stationed just outside the Exclusive Economic Zone in a narrow band of international open water.

These fishing vessels are not illegal as they sit just outside the protected waters of the GMR. It can also result in severe injury see trolling. As with all forms of hook and line fishing, sometimes fish are gaffed i.

In this method of fishing, it is common for live fish to be used as bait. A semi-automatic machine impales the live fish on hooks as the line is played out. The use of live bait hugely adds to the suffering caused in this fishing method, as do long capture periods. One hooked, the fish may themselves be subsequently attacked by predators and may be dead when landed.