Dear Chair Lowman and Council Members:

Oceana, Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network are writing to formally request the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) amend the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan to prohibit large mesh drift gillnets off the U.S. West Coast. In addition we request the PFMC immediately stop all efforts to expand the California drift gillnet fishery into the Pacific Leatherback Conservation Area (PLCA). In no uncertain terms, this fishery has proven to be a failed experiment, and it is time to end the use of this unsustainable gear and transition to sustainable, low-bycatch alternatives for catching swordfish.

Click here to read the full letter (.pdf).