Loggerhead turtles, long the most abundant U.S. marine turtle, are at risk of vanishing off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, according to a new federal report.
The report comes as federal fisheries managers weigh a plan for the Gulf of Mexico aimed at reducing the number of sea turtles that die from accidental captures in fishing gear.
The federal government placed a temporary moratorium on longline fishing in the gulf last April in an attempt to aid the turtle. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council — comprising state and federal officials, commercial and recreational fishers and academics — is expected to vote today on a new plan that could allow the return of some longline fishers, but with more stringent restrictions on when and where they can work.