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New report on pelagic longline fishing's impact in the Pacific Ocean comes as the UN considers bans on destructive fishing

A new report published by the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, "Pillaging the Pacific," has found that contrary to its reputation as a "clean" fishing technology, longline fishing in the Pacific annually captures and kills about 4.4 million non-targeted marine animals such as sharks, billfish, seabirds, marine mammals and sea turtles.

The report comes at the time when the UN is considering action on destructive fishing techniques and in advance of another UN meeting later this month to reduce the threat to sea turtles by industrial fishing. "Longlining, touted as a benign fishing method, is literally wiping out the lions and tigers of the oceans --- sharks, tunas and marine mammals. The problem is no longer limited to just sea turtles," warns Robert Ovetz, PhD, Save the Leatherback Campaign Coordinator. "The UN has said destructive fishing methods should be banned. Now is the time to walk the walk and ban longlining in the Pacific."

Most threatened by industrial longlines is the endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtle, which is expected to become extinct within the next 5-30 years if the decline in its adult population is not halted. The population of adult nesting females has declined by about 95 percent since 1980.

In order to prevent the extinction of the 100 million year old leatherback, according to scientist Dr. Larry Crowder of the Duke University in the United States, "wherever fishing occurs, the bycatch of leatherbacks must be reduced to as close as possible to zero."

More than 600 international scientists from 54 countries, including biologist E.O. Wilson and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Sylvia Earle, have signed a petition to the UN urging it to impose a moratorium on longline fishing in the Pacific.

Longline fishing uses monofilament lines up to 60 miles long with thousands of baited hooks and primarily targets tuna and swordfish.

As a result of the longline bycatch crisis, a recent study in the scientific journal Nature, has found that "large predatory fish biomass today is only about 10 percent of pre-industrial levels." Populations of sharks and some tunas, for example, have declined significantly.

The impact on seabirds is catastrophic. The Pacific Black-footed Albatross population is expected to suffer a 20 percent decline from current levels over the next 60 years and may be driven to extinction unless significant actions are taken.

At the same time these species have declined, the tragedy of shark finning, in which the fins of a shark are cut off and the body thrown back into the ocean, has grown exponentially as industrial longline vessels attempt to supplement their dwindling catches.

"The damage being caused by industrial longline fishing is a global ecological crisis. The UN needs to listen to its own experts and shut down longlining in the Pacific before the leatherback and Black-footed albatross are lost forever," concludes Ovetz.

"Pillaging the Pacific" is expected to send a shock wave throughout the UN as the General Assembly considers two resolutions allowing for the banning of destructive fishing methods. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Technical Consultation on Sea Turtles Conservation and Fisheries will also begin meeting on November 29th to consider the impact of industrial fishing on sea turtles. Both the FAO Technical Consultation and an earlier Expert Consultation have released reports calling for the closure of fisheries --- including longline fishing --- that threaten sea turtles.

For a copy of the report go to http://www.seaturtles.org/pdf/Pillaging.5.final.pdf

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