June 2, 2024 — In an effort to protect endangered loggerhead sea turtles, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced on Thursday that fishing with large-mesh drift gillnets will be prohibited in federal waters off the coast of Southern California from the beginning of June until the end of August.
The announcement was made after officials determined that El Niño weather conditions are happening in Southern California.
El Niño causes a variety of weather effects across the United States — including warmer water in the Pacific and in turn less phytoplankton for fish to eat, disrupting the food chain of sea creatures that eat those fish.
Large-mesh drift gillnets are sometimes miles-long nets used to catch fish like swordfish. They can inadvertently catch other sea creatures like whales, dolphins, sharks and turtles.