Your Action Needed
Miguel A. Rolón, Executive Director U.S. Caribbean Fishery Management Council 268 Muñoz Rivera Ave, Suite 1108 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918-2577
Dr. William T. Hogarth, Regional Administrator National Marine Fisheries Service 9721 Executive Center Drive, North St. Petersburg, FL 33702 re: request for bycatch reduction and habitat protection in the U.S. Caribbean
Dear Mr. Rolón and Dr. Hogarth:
We, the (number) undersigned U.S. Caribbean conservation and diving organizations, respectfully request that the U.S. Caribbean Fishery Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service immediately 1) research and implement ways to reduce bycatch in entanglement nets and traps, and 2) implement regulations to eliminate harmful impacts of traps to essential fish habitat by limiting their placement and retrieval near coral habitats.
The 1996 Sustainable Fisheries Act requires federal fishery managers to reduce unintentional catch (called "bycatch") to the extent practicable in all fisheries and to protect habitat deemed essential for fish from harm by fishing gears. In the U.S. Caribbean, these mandates have not been met.
Thousands of tropical fish are killed each year in entanglement nets and wire mesh fish traps. Fishers do not keep these small fish. Instead, they throw them dead or dying overboard. Research must begin immediately to change fishing gears to reduce bycatch.
Not only are the tropical fish being removed at an alarming rate but the very coral reefs that shelter them are being destroyed. Heavy traps are ending up on top of fragile corals. To retrieve traps, heavy grapnels are dragged across the bottom, destroying everything in their path. Regulations are necessary to prohibit the placement of traps on corals and prevent the use of grapnels near coral reefs to protect this resource, which has been declared essential fish habitat by the U.S. Caribbean Fishery Management Council.
Therefore, we respectfully request that the U.S. Caribbean Fishery Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service immediately research and implement ways to reduce bycatch in entanglement nets and traps. We also respectfully request that regulations be put into place immediately to eliminate harmful impacts of traps to essential fish habitat by limiting their placement and retrieval near coral habitats.
We look forward to your support for and early response to our request.
Respectfully submitted, (endorsing organizations will be listed alphabetically)
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