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    Whales and Crab Fishing

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    More humpback and gray whales have become entangled in crab fishing lines off the coast of California in recent years, with at least 30 whales trapped in 2014 and 25 already in 2015. The number of entanglements is rising as whale populations increase and more time is spent feeding in the same areas that have high crab fishing. Environmental groups are calling on officials to implement immediate rule changes to protect the whales, which can be injured or drowned by the lines. Solutions proposed include restricting fishing in whale feeding areas, using breakaway lines, and collecting abandoned fishing gear.

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    Whales and Crab Fishing

    Uploaded by

    api-286094386
    236 views3 pages
    More humpback and gray whales have become entangled in crab fishing lines off the coast of California in recent years, with at least 30 whales trapped in 2014 and 25 already in 2015. The number of entanglements is rising as whale populations increase and more time is spent feeding in the same areas that have high crab fishing. Environmental groups are calling on officials to implement immediate rule changes to protect the whales, which can be injured or drowned by the lines. Solutions proposed include restricting fishing in whale feeding areas, using breakaway lines, and collecting abandoned fishing gear.

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    More humpback and gray whales have become entangled in crab fishing lines off the coast of California in recent years, with at least 30 whales trapped in 2014 and 25 already in 2015. The number of entanglements is rising as whale populations increase and more time is spent feeding in the same areas that have high crab fishing. Environmental groups are calling on officials to implement immediate rule changes to protect the whales, which can be injured or drowned by the lines. Solutions proposed include restricting fishing in whale feeding areas, using breakaway lines, and collecting abandoned fishing gear.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    236 views3 pages

    Whales and Crab Fishing

    Uploaded by

    api-286094386
    More humpback and gray whales have become entangled in crab fishing lines off the coast of California in recent years, with at least 30 whales trapped in 2014 and 25 already in 2015. The number of entanglements is rising as whale populations increase and more time is spent feeding in the same areas that have high crab fishing. Environmental groups are calling on officials to implement immediate rule changes to protect the whales, which can be injured or drowned by the lines. Solutions proposed include restricting fishing in whale feeding areas, using breakaway lines, and collecting abandoned fishing gear.

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    More whales get tangled in crabfishing gear

    By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 05.11.15


    Word Count 617

    Lieutenant Commander Joe Pica of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) diving
    with a humpback whale off the Dominican Republic. Photo: NOAA's National Ocean Service / Flickr

    LOS ANGELES In the Paci c waters off the coast of California, two groups
    are coming into con ict: crab shermen and humpback whales.
    More and more whales have been injured or killed after getting trapped in
    shing lines. In 2014, at least 30 whales were entangled in shing lines. Most of
    them were grays and humpbacks.
    Thats a record number. Its almost double the number of whales trapped in
    2013.
    So far in 2015, at least 25 whales have been trapped in shing lines.
    Crab shermen drop traps to the sea oor. The traps are attached to buoys that
    oat on the surface. Whales have been getting tangled in the lines that connect
    the traps and the buoys.

    Now, environmental groups are urging state of cials to immediately change


    some shing rules to protect whales. They are also pushing to keep the
    humpback whale on the endangered species list. It is the list of animals most
    likely to to die out forever, or become extinct.

    Rules Have Helped Protect Huge Mammals


    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a government
    agency that sets rules for oceans and shing. In February, NOAA announced
    that it may remove some groups of humpback whales from the endangered
    species list.
    The number of humpback whales has risen over the last 40 years thanks to
    efforts to protect the huge marine mammals.
    The recent entanglements have put humpback whales back in the public eye.
    Jennifer Renzullo is a biologist at the University of California, Davis. She
    explained why more whales have been getting caught in shing lines.
    For some reason, humpback and gray whales that tend to migrate through
    areas such as Monterey Bay have been spending more time there, Renzullo
    said. At the same time, the number of crabs was very high there this year.
    More shing and more whales in the area are leading to more whales getting
    trapped, she said.
    Of the 30 whales tangled in shing lines in 2014, seven died after the lines cut
    into their skin and blubber. Seven others were successfully released from the
    lines. It is not known what happened to the other whales that were caught up in
    lines.
    Fishing companies, government agencies and environmental groups have been
    working to protect whales.
    Last week though, three environmental groups joined together to call for
    immediate action.

    One Idea Is To Collect Lost Fishing Lines


    One idea they put forward is to stop shing where whales are feeding. Another
    idea is to use lines that break away if whales get caught. The groups also said
    more efforts to collect lost or abandoned shing gear could help.
    Its heartbreaking to know so many whales are getting tangled up in shing
    gear, said Catherine Kilduff, a lawyer with the Center for Biological Diversity
    one group that is calling for action. They often drown or drag gear around until
    they are too exhausted to feed. Even more disturbing is that this problem is only
    getting worse.

    Renzullo, the biologist from UC Davis, is not so sure.


    My guess is that the number of whale entanglements will drop off as the year
    goes on, she said.
    Most crabs are caught within the rst six weeks of the shing season (the legal
    time of year for crab shing), she said. As shing drops off later in the season,
    so could the number of whales getting trapped, she said.
    Yet environmental groups say humpback whales are still in danger.
    In our opinion, humpback whales still need federal protection, Kilduff said. She
    said humpbacks off California still face "a wide range of threats."
    The threats to whales include: pollution and trash, getting hit by ships, or getting
    tangled in shing gear, she said.

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