California NGO Drops Out of Stakeholder Process, Sues State Over Whale Entanglements in Crab Fishery
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Seafood News] by Susan Chambers - October 4, 2017
The Center for Biological Diversity has targeted the California Dungeness crab fishery by suing the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Tuesday.
The Center claims California crab fishery is causing the illegal "take" of whales and sea turtles.
Each entanglement of a humpback whale, blue whale or leatherback sea turtle violates the federal Endangered Species Act, the Center said in a press release, and the department is liable for causing these unlawful entanglements because it authorizes and manages operation of the fishery.
California Dungeness Crab fishermen were outraged at the lawsuit. They said the Center should instead continue to be part of the multi-stakeholder process..
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