The Pacific leatherback sea turtle is one of the most endangered animals in world. And if industrial fishers get their way, these gentle giants will be pushed towards extinction.
Longline fishing (for swordfish and tuna) has been identified as one of the major sources of adult mortality for leatherbacks. Entangled in fishing line, leatherbacks drown as they struggle to the surface to breathe.
In 2001, the US closed 250,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean to protect sea turtles from the deadly longline fishery.
This conservation area reduced leatherback deaths from 112 between 1990 and 2001; to near zero between 2001 and 2012.
But now longliners want to unravel this environmental victory.
Longliners have requested an "Experimental Fishing Permit" to once again set their deadly hooks in this safe haven for sea turtles.
Demand President Obama takes immediate action to deny the "Experimental Fishing" permit.
Act now before it’s too late for leatherback sea turtles.
Dear President Obama,
Leatherback sea turtles our deserve protection. They are the largest sea turtle, they migrate across the Pacific from Indonesia to the coast and California, and they are listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act and globally on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
I am writing to demand you protect leatherback sea turtles by denying the pending proposal for an Experimental Longline Fishery Permit in the Pacific Leatherback Conservation Area.
The conservation area has been a success. It has reduced the number of leatherback deaths in the fishery from 112 between 1990 and 2001; to near zero between 2001 and 2012.
Let’s not push leatherbacks towards extinction by allowing deadly longliners back into the Pacific Leatherback Conservation Area.
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Thank you.
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