California and Oregon Drift Gillnet Final Rule

NOAA Fisheries is issuing a final rule to prohibit fishing with drift gillnets in the California/Oregon (CA/OR) thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet fishery in U.S. waters off southern California in waters east of the 120°W., for the months of June, July, and August, when the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA) publishes a notice that El Nino conditions are forecasted or present off southern California. NOAA Fisheries has determined that the incidental take of loggerhead sea turtles by this fishery correlates to the area and season being fished during these oceanographic conditions. If implemented, this time and area closure will result in a reduction in the take of loggerhead turtles by the fishery and would be necessary to avoid the likelihood of the CA/OR drift gillnet fishery jeopardizing the continued existence of the loggerhead turtle population.