The article “Sea turtles get protection from fishing lines” from msnbc.com talks about how federal regulators are restricting a fishing technique that is used to catch red group because it is harmful to sea turtles.  This takes place in the Gulf of Mexico on the Florida west coast.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that using the long fishing lines with hooks and squid bate will be banned from May 18th until October 18th.  This time period is when the sea turtles feed in the warm Florida coastal waters so the mandate is clearly put in place to protect the sea turtles.

The ban was put in place after studies were released that showed that up to 1,000 sea turtles were being snagged up in nets every 18 months.  80% of the sea turtles caught were loggerheads, which are a threatened species.

Above is a picture of a loggerhead sea turtle

Roy Crabtree, from the NOAA, said that the ban was just a temporary solution.  The agency is working with both fishermen and conservationists in order to come up with a more permanent solution.  “I hope we can identify options that not only provide sea turtles the protection they need, but minimize the economic affects to the fishing industry,” Crabtree said.

Not everyone is happen with the temporary ban, though.  Glen Brooks, who is the president of the Gulf Fishermen’s Association, says that the ban threatens his industry and hundreds of workers.  “This may not be something anyone can recover from,” Brooks said.

Regulators are thinking of eliminating long-line boats and banning the gear during June, July, and August because these are feeding months for sea turtles.  This would help the turtles, but hurt the workers who depend on this gear.  Although the workers depend on this, I think that they can come up with other ways to catch fish aside from using equipment that harms the sea turtles.  “This is going to be a major benefit to sea turtles, especially the loggerheads that are threatened with extinction,” said David L. Allison, a senior campaign director at Oceana. “This is a prime feeding area for sea turtles that nest all the way up to the Carolinas.”

I think this article is interesting becuase it values animals over people.  While sea turtles can survive with this ban, there are many eople who will be left without jobs to support themselves and their families in the summer months.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30484815/

photo from AP images