Is The Tide Turning For Sea Turtle Protections In California?
Endangered sea turtles. These graceful creatures have long fascinated people and for years the United States has played a lead role globally in their protection. But the tide could be turning. The government is now seemingly more interested in rolling back conservation measures than protecting the last of the sea turtles, particularly along the California coast. At a time when all seven species of sea turtles are considered endangered, and the Pacific leatherback sea turtle – over 100 million years old – is on the verge of extinction, decisive action is needed to protect these species. And this has been the role that the United States once played. They led the way in the early 1990s by developing and implementing Turtle Excluder Devices for shrimp trawlers that provide sea turtles an escape hatch from shrimp nets. This saved their lives by the thousands and 20 other countries soon followed suit. In 1999, a role-model conservation effort was implemented when the Hawaii swordfish longlin
