14 DAY TRIAL // Several green-oriented organizations now decided to join hands and go against the US federal government, on account of the latter's authorizing gillnetting to once again take place in Californian waters.
For those unaware, gillnetting is a fishing method which basically consists of having several nets arranged as vertical panels below sea level, thus trapping fish as they try to get around the various areas of their natural habitats.
Naturally, other marine animals such as whales, turtles and sharks also get caught up in these nets more often than not, which is why their being used by fishermen is something both conservationists and environmentalists frown upon.
Oceana, a conservation group whose main focus is to protect endangered marine species, now informs us that a lawsuit is to soon be filed against the US federal government, unless high officials go back on their decision of supporting the use of such nets.
Seeing how most of the species threatened by these nets are presently running considerable risk of becoming extinct in the not so distant future – of course, provided that nothing is done to protect them – the green-oriented organizations which decided to get involved in this campaign are to make use of the Endangered Species Act as legal backup for their complaints.
One environmental scientist, Catherine Kilduff, argues that, “Deadly fishing nets are risking the future of large whales and sea turtles. Gillnets entangle everything in the sea, wasting sea life that's precious to the balance of our oceans.”
Another conservationist, Todd Steiner, supports her statements by showing how, “Curtains of death, in the form of the California driftnet fishery, should be abolished in California water and need be phased out as soon as possible.”
“Sea turtles, sharks and whales are all being hammered by this fishery that targets high-mercury seafood species that are largely unfit to eat,” Todd Steiner further elaborated on this matter.