ARE SEA TURTLE INTERACTIONS IN THE HAWAII SWORDFISH FISHERY BEING CONTROLLED?
Yes. The swordfish sector of the Hawaii longline fishery was closed for three years because of the perception of a high level of gear interactions with protected sea turtles. This sector was re-opened in 2004 under new Federal regulations that require the use of circle (rather than J) hooks and fish (rather than squid) bait and other measures to minimize the severity of injuries and trauma to sea turtles after accidental capture. Limits have been placed on sea turtle interactions with Hawaii longline gear. In the event that a predetermined limit on the number of loggerhead (17) or leatherback turtle (16) interactions is exceeded, the swordfish sector of Hawaii longline fisheries is closed for the rest of the calendar year, regardless of whether it has reached total allowable sets. The limit has only been reached once since it was imposed. The new regulations have resulted in an 89 percent reduction in the incidental interactions with all turtle species in the Hawaii swordfish longline
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