"It's like the Serengeti of the sea right here," Geoff Shester said, gazing off the bow of a transport boat hurtling toward the coast of Anacapa Island. He's the California Campaign Director for Oceana, a group dedicated to preserving the oceans and their marine life.
The marine sanctuary that protects the waters around Anacapa have helped foster a natural mecca for marine life. This area plays host to the largest congregation of blue whales and boasts more than one hundred species that are found nowhere else on Earth. Addressing the planet's ocean plastics problem James Packard 7:42 PM, Apr 22, 2024 Gillnets are a backbone for the commercial fishing industry. They're meant to trap fish of varying sizes by their gills. They help the commercial fishing industry bring in millions of dollars a year and keep it employing thousands of people in California alone. But often, these nets tangle up unintended targets: turtles and sharks, for instance.
But fishermen worry banning set gillnets will put them out of business, and won't impact the root of the problems facing our ocean. He's supportive of a package of regulations working through California's Department of Fish and Wildlife to reduce so-called"bycatch" in big nets; that describes the untargeted marine animals that end up in the nets. He doesn't think, though, that banning set gillnets is a solution.