New Rules for California Set Gillnets Will Help Prevent Wildlife Entanglements | Oceana

Victory | August 31, 2024

New Rules for California Set Gillnets Will Help Prevent Wildlife Entanglements

Following campaigning by Oceana, the California Fish and Game Commission adopted new rules to reduce the entanglement of whales, sea lions, and other animals in nets used to catch halibut and white seabass. Called “set gillnets,” these are long fishing nets weighted to the ocean floor that catch nearly everything swimming in their path. For the first time, there will be limits on the time set gillnets can be left in the water before being retrieved, increasing the likelihood that animals inadvertently caught in the nets — like  sea lions, sharks, and seabirds — will survive. The new rules also limit the height of the gillnets and require all of them to have unique gear markings so they can be identified in the event they entangle a whale or other threatened species.