| |
10. Avoid seafood
caught with longlines or gillnets. One
of the easiest ways Texans can help protect our sea turtles is through educated
consumerism. The marine turtles that return generation after generation to nest
on our beaches and forage off our coast navigate the world’s oceans throughout
their lifetimes. One of the hazards of such vast journeys is treacherous run-ins
with the fishing industry that supplies you and your pets with delectable sources
of protein. Two of the most ecologically damaging fishing practices in existence
today are longline fishing and gillnetting. Longline fishing is employed by fleets
in order to entrap such fare as tuna and swordfish on the surface and cod and
halibut along the seafloor. A central line, stretching any where from one to fifty
miles long, is strung with numerous smaller lines bearing baited hooks. Sea turtles
are among the sharks, seabirds, and other nontargeted wildlife species attracted
to the bait, hooked, and dragged to their drowning deaths beneath the ocean waves.
Gillnetting shrouds the oceans of the world with net curtains suspended by floats
and weights, which drift along the surface or are anchored to the bottom in order
to snag salmon, sardines, and cod. Unfortunately, they also entangle and drown
unsuspecting sea turtles. By checking labels on pet foods and carefully scrutinizing
your own menu options, you can avoid supporting the longline and gillnetting industries
and their deadly by catch of marine turtles. For a helpful guide to sea-turtle-friendly
seafood, visit http://www.montereybayaquarium.org
or download the Monterey Bay Aquarium seafood watch app for your Android or iPhone.
|
 |
| A loggerhead sea turtle
surfaces for air. Countless sea turtles fall victim to longline fishing and gillnetting,
which drown hooked and entangled turtles. |
And,
with this turtle-saving tip, we conclude our ten-day celebration of World Turtle
Day! Hopefully, each and every one of you can assimilate these turtle tips into
your daily lives and make the world a little easier for our chelonian neighbors.
And, whether it be a solitary Texas tortoise lumbering across the desert, a loggerhead
sea turtle grazing by an offshore oilrig, diamondback terrapins popping up to
check out your kayak gliding through a coastal marsh, a box turtle sampling wild
dewberries in your backyard, or a cooter basking in the local bayou you pass over
every day to work, keep an eye out for the turtles and tortoises of Texas and
enjoy the natural beauty and inimitable character they bestow on our Lone Star
state.
See Top ten ways Texans can help
our turtles and tortoises
Tip 1 -
2 - 3
- 4 - 5
- 6 - 7
- 8 - 9
©
Bonnie Wroblewski
http://www.dovekeywildlife.org
June 20, 2011
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