California Phases Out Destructive Swordfish Drift Gillnet Fishing, Protecting Marine Mammals, Turtles and Sharks From Bycatch - Oceana USA

Victory | September 27, 2018

California Phases Out Destructive Swordfish Drift Gillnet Fishing, Protecting Marine Mammals, Turtles and Sharks From Bycatch

Despite 30 years of management measures aimed at reducing bycatch, the California swordfish drift gillnet fishery had remained one of the nation’s dirtiest fisheries, killing more dolphins than all observed U.S. West Coast fisheries combined. Thanks to a years-long campaign by Oceana and our allies, a new law will clean up the fishery, phasing out the use of drift gillnets through a buyout transition program and incentivizing the use of cleaner fishing gear. These measures will eventually eliminate nets that have frequently entangled, injured and killed marine mammals like whales, dolphins and sea lions as well as endangered sea turtles, sharks and other important fish species.