Today, the  Lieutenant Governor of California Gavin Newsom  and Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) penned a thoughtful op-ed in the Sacramento Bee calling on fisheries managers to phase out deadly driftnets.

“Now, the predominant method of catching swordfish on the West Coast involves submerging mile-long drift gillnets overnight. Not surprisingly, these nets entangle many species of marine life other than swordfish. In fact, 65 percent of the catch is thrown overboard, including dolphins, striped marlin and even the occasional whale,” Newsom and Allen wrote, citing facts from our recently released report, which is available for free download here).

Turtle Island is thankful to the more than 20,000 activists who signed our petition calling for the end of these deadly mile-long nets, and to those who have supported our research and advocacy on this issue. This op-ed shows that our work is reaching decision makers, and making an impact.

Read the entire op-ed here, and then thank Newsom and Allen for their leadership on this critical ocean issue.