Something is "very wrong," as Teri Shore of Turtle Island Restoration Network wrote last week in The Palm Beach Post ("Turtle-deadly Florida fishery not worthy of eco-friendly label"), but it is not with Day Boat Seafood of Lake Park, the Marine Stewardship Council or our commercial fishermen.
Turtle Island Restoration states that our fleet captures 63 loggerhead and 78 leatherback turtles on a yearly basis but fails to inform the public of all the facts. While we acknowledge rare captures, to the best of our knowledge none of the observed interactions resulted in a single documented death of a turtle, and these numbers refer to the whole zone. In addition, capture numbers are extrapolated using numerical formulas and do not apply to our specific fleet .
Finally, we held two workshops where Day Boat Seafood requested feedback from all concerned organizations, including Turtle Island. While many organizations participated with constructive suggestions to minimize impact and improve this process, Turtle Island has chosen to condemn an entire fishery. The impact to turtles from recreational boating, coastal development and habitat loss is the real issue. Additionally, other by-catch was looked at and represents a very small percentage of our production.
Read the complete commentary from The Palm Beach Post.