On March 22, a migrating gray whale was spotted entangled in gillnet fishing gear off the coast of Laguna Beach. Despite efforts by the Pacific Marine Mammal Center response team, the whale remains entangled, facing suffering and likely death.
As a proud supporter of sustainable commercial fisheries, I am disheartened that California continues to allow gillnet fishing for halibut and seabass. The Department of Fish and Wildlife has determined that the gillnet fishery poses the highest ecological risk of all state fisheries. Fortunately, Assemblymember Steve Bennett has introduced AB-2220 to extend the gillnet ban across all state waters. Let’s act now to protect our marine biodiversity. Please join me in urging our representatives to support AB-2220.
Eric Praske, Laguna Beach
Thank you for alerting me to this bill. I will definitely contact my elected representatives at the state level!