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November 2005

UN Calls for Closures to Protect Sea Turtles

By Sea Turtles

While a Good First Step, Scientists Say a Moratorium is Needed

Today, the United Nations General Assembly will vote on a resolution that calls for closures of fishing in areas where large numbers of critically endangered sea turtles are caught or killed. The critically endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtle is on the verge of extinction and is expected by scientists to go extinct in the next 5-30 years unless immediate measures to eliminate threats posed by industrial longline fishing are taken. Environmentalists are pleased at this first step but warn that a moratorium on destructive longline fishing is needed in the Pacific if the leatherback is to survive.

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