Channel Islands Wildlife Dying in Set Gillnets and Research Expedition to Protect Biodiversity
Stronger action is needed to clean up one of California’s dirtiest fisheries
by Oceana
The California Fish and Game Commission failed to address the high rate of discarded ocean animals — like sea lions, seabirds, sharks, and other fish — in the state’s set gillnet fishery. In a 3-2 vote, the Commission went against its Marine Resources Committee members and adopted weak fishery regulations that will continue to put California’s ocean biodiversity at risk.
The regulatory package the Commission voted on during its August 14 meeting included three management measures: setting maximum soak times for nets; setting net height; and requiring gear marking. In particular, changing the maximum soak time could have reduced the number of animals killed by this fishery. Soak time, or service interval, is the amount of time set gillnets are fishing just off the ocean floor. The longer these set gillnets, stretching up to 20 football fields in length (or 6,000 feet) are passively fishing on the ocean floor, the more animals that die. A 24-hour service interval would have reduced the mortality of incidentally entangled wildlife by 22-33%. Instead of taking the opportunity to reduce wildlife mortality caused by the nets — with minimal impacts to the fishing fleet — by reducing soak times to 24-36 hours, the Commission enshrined the status quo in regulation, allowing set gillnets to remain in the water for 48 hours. The soak time adopted by the Commission runs counter to the recommendation from the Commission’s own Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) for a soak time of less than 48 hours to reduce mortality of dozens of species of ocean animals. Similarly, the Commission voted to maintain the current net height.
Additionally, the Commission adopted insufficient gear marking for the nets, creating a harmful precedent that may perpetuate the issue of unknown gillnet entanglements. Often when whales are entangled, the origin of the gear remains unknown because very little gear is uniquely marked. Whale entanglement sightings have increased across fisheries along the West Coast over the last several years, and robust fishing gear marking is an important part of reducing these incidences. If fishery managers know exactly which gear is entangling whales, they can adjust fisheries to reduce interactions. In this case the Commission voted to mark the gear with a simple tracer-line, or streamer, every 120 feet on the top line of the gillnet, leaving most of the gear unmarked and not able to be uniquely identified.
In 2018, the Department and independent scientists determined that the set gillnet fishery poses the highest risk to ocean ecosystems of all state managed fisheries. The Commission’s actions follow years of work by the Commission’s Marine Resource Committee, Department, Oceana and other environmental groups, wildlife rescue centers, and sport fishermen to instate management that could have resulted in tangible protections for wildlife in one of California’s dirtiest fisheries.
“The California Fish and Game Commission missed the mark by failing to implement reasonable measures to reduce injury and death to ocean wildlife in one of California’s most harmful gear-types,” said Caitlynn Birch, Oceana’s Pacific Marine Scientist. “Set gillnets pose threats to the recovery of protected and previously overexploited species such as great white sharks, depleted giant seabass, and tope sharks. Californians have already established they don’t want these nets off our coast and this fishery is among the only California fisheries now on Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Red List. Yet, the Commission voted not to select a commonsense measure that could have reduced the injury and mortality of countless animals in these nets. Our fisheries must be managed with a precautionary approach, true to the sustainability standards of the state’s guiding fishery management law that protects biodiversity and supports healthy and resilient ecosystems.”
“Impacts to ocean life from the set gillnet fishery in Southern California’s waters have been out-of-sight, out-of-mind for far too long,” said Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura). “Current practices are simply not sustainable. It’s time to broaden the protections in place for ocean life from the impacts of set gillnets. The Channel Islands are ecologically and culturally significant. We benefit from its biodiversity and beauty, and it is under threat. California must continue to lead on sustainable fishing practices for all who enjoy and make a living from our ocean.”
Background
Set gillnets are used to catch California halibut and white seabass and have the highest bycatch rates of any California fishery by number of animals, catching more than 100 different species such as vulnerable sharks and marine mammals. California set gillnets were originally banned in Northern California waters back in 1915 due to bycatch concerns. California voters passed Proposition 132 in 1990 due to continued bycatch concerns, which prohibited the use of set gillnets within state waters off the Southern California mainland (0-3 nautical miles) and within one mile of offshore islands. In the late 1990s, scientists discovered set gillnets were also killing an alarming number of federally protected marine mammals and seabirds. In response, the California Fish and Game Commission banned the use of these nets off the Central California Coast in 2002. Due to the complexities of these various actions, most Californians are unaware that while set gillnets are banned in state waters off the Southern California mainland (0-3 nautical miles), they are still being used in federal waters, offshore banks, and in state waters from 1-3 nautical miles around California’s Channel Islands, with continued high rates of bycatch.
Set gillnets are the only fishery allowed to incidentally catch and sell great white sharks and giant seabass. These nets also entangle gray whales and endangered humpback whales migrating along the California coast. Last month, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program downgraded the California white seabass set gillnet fishery to its Red List due to bycatch and management concerns, urging businesses and consumers to avoid white seabass or yellowtail caught with set gillnets. More selective hook and line fishing methods are already well-established for catching California halibut and white seabass that have significantly less bycatch and yield higher prices for fish considered better quality seafood than gillnet caught fish.
For more information visit www.oceana.org/keepCAoceansthriving
