California swordfish gillnets remain in the crosshairs

摘要

Embattled fishery: California's groundfish trawlers recently got some big help in the form of a new law that lowers the interest rate on a federal loan covering permit buyouts.For contrast, consider the state's drift gillnet fishery, which has been vilified by environmentalists for years. Lawmakers are proposing changes for this fishery as well, but not to assist it.After environmental groups released striking photos documenting the fishery's bycatch, a California State Assembly bill that proposed banning the method was introduced in 2014. It died at the committee level, but the political fight against drift gillnets is not over.