Courtesy of SeafoodNews.com:
As promised, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), alongside Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), reintroduced the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act. The legislation aims to ban drift gillnets used in the state of California on February 8.
The legislation passed through Congress in 2020 and was vetoed by President Trump in early January 2021.
“Congress has ignored the fact that the regional fishery management process has had strong, bipartisan support since its creation,” the veto message said. “By forcing the West Coast drift gillnet fishery to use alternative gear that has not been proven to be an economically viable substitute for gillnets, the Congress is effectively terminating the fishery.”
Following the veto, Feinstein said she would reintroduce the bill once President Joe Biden entered office. The bill pushes for the phasing out of large mesh drift gillnets as a method to protect whales, dolphins, sea lions, sea turtles, fish and sharks citing the likelihood of bycatch and entanglements when using the fishing method.
“Let’s be clear: the Senate unanimously passed our bill and the House passed it shortly thereafter. There is no support to continue using these deadly nets in our waters,” Senator Feinstein said. “Large mesh driftnets indiscriminately kill whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea turtles and other marine animals. It’s time to transition the industry to more efficient, sustainable and profitable methods. Real-time data shows other fishing gear is more successful, profitable and sustainable. Now that we have a new administration, I’m hopeful that Congress will quickly pass our bill and we can begin to phase driftnets out.”
Trump’s veto was praised by California swordfish fishermen who argued that the legislation could disrupt the livelihoods of multiple fishing families in the state.
“This bill would have unnecessarily shut down the federal drift gillnet (DGN) fishery and force the substitution of fishing gears which are unproven, putting about thirty small vessel fishing families out of business,” San Diego Fishermen’s Working Group said in a press release. “DGN gear targets swordfish, and also lands thresher shark and Opah, all of which are abundant, fished within legal harvest limits and delivered to local California markets and restaurants.”
The fishermen argued how environmentalists have peddled a false narrative” regarding its impact on the aforementioned species.
“Since 2010, there have only been three interactions with endangered species, and in two of those incidents, the turtle and a whale were released alive,” the working group wrote in a press release. “This remarkable record has come through years of work with stakeholders, including federal and state fisheries managers, scientists, fishermen and environmental groups. As for bycatch, the vast majority of non-target species landed are brought ashore and sold to markets; they are not wasted. In fact, since 2015 over 90% of DGN catch is either marketed or returned alive to the ocean.”
The San Diego Fishermen’s Working Group also argued that the proposed alternative method of fishing using Deep Set Buoy Gear (DSGB) is more of an experimental method, rather than an alternative.
“This bill would have done nothing but put hard working fishing men and women out of business for political reasons only. It would mean less fresh swordfish for the west coast, more imports from unregulated countries, and because this fishery in reality has such few interactions with protected species and marine mammals, it would have little benefit, if any, to their populations.”, said Gary Burke, longtime DGN fisherman from Santa Barbara.