WMDs: Weapons of mass de-hooking DOC helps fishers to be turtle safe

摘要

Have you ever seen a sea turtle when you've been out fishing? Although sea turtles are typically thought of as tropical animals living around Hawaii and northern Australia, there are five species that we think live in New Zealand waters - leatherback,loggerhead, hawksbill, green and olive ridley turtles. All these turtles lay eggs in nest holes dug on sandy beaches overseas. When the eggs hatch, the little turtles dig their way to the sand surface, and scuttle down the beach to reach the ocean. Globally, sea turtles are in trouble. All species thought to live in New Zealand waters are threatened with extinction, and two of these are critically endangered. Only one in a thousand turtles is thought to survive from hatching to breeding age. In New Zealand, our information on turtle interactions with fishing gear is poor. However, there is a consistent trickle of reported turtle captures. Reports come from government fisheries observers and fishers. It's important to note that in many of the New Zealand fisheries most likely to capture turtles, observer coverage has been low. Relevant fisheries here are the domestic surface and bottom longline fisheries, and perhaps also inshore trawl fisheries in northern areas.