Stop the Deadly Use of Driftnets

Victory: The Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, a bipartisan bill which officially phases out the use of harmful driftnets in federal waters, was passed by Congress on Dec. 23rd. Less than one week later, President Biden signed the measure into law.

It’s time to stop the needless slaughter of dolphins, sea turtles, and other marine wildlife by driftnets off the coast of California.

Driftnets are outdated and destructive to wildlife. Dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals are being mercilessly killed off the coast of California by a fishing practice intended to catch swordfish, but which indiscriminately scoops up other species.

Rare sea turtles, sea lions, whales, and sharks, and as many as 60 other species are at risk of being injured or killed by these huge driftnets, which can be as large as 1.5 miles long and extend 200 feet deep. These non-target species are known as “bycatch” and some are even threatened or endangered. For instance, in 2017, two endangered sperm whales were entangled and killed in the California driftnet fishery.

Driftnet fishing has an astonishingly high bycatch rate, with estimates for some nets as high as seven to one. This means that for every swordfish being caught in these nets, as many as seven other marine animals may become collateral damage.

California banned the practice in state waters, but it continues in federal waters. In 2020, both houses in the United States Congress passed a bill to ban the practice in federal waters, but President Trump vetoed the bill. It has now been reintroduced and is being considered in the United States Senate and House.

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