Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Donald Trump administration ends measure to protect endangered sea animals getting caught in fishing nets

The National Marine Fisheries Service says the cost of new measure ‘outweighed the benefits’

Tuesday 13 June 2017 12:59 BST

Even one injured animal per year is a serious threat to an endangered species (Getty)

Donald Trump’s administration has thrown out a proposal for the protection of endangered whales and sea turtles, even though it was suggested by the fishing industry.

If too many protected species were being caught, the measure would have stopped fishing with drift nets off America's west coast for as many as two seasons.

But the National Marine Fisheries Service said it was not needed.

It would have have had “a much more substantial [economical] impact on the fleet” than originally anticipated, said spokesman, Michael Milstein.

“The bottom line is this is a fishery that’s worked hard to reduce its impact,” he said, adding that the cost of the new measure outweighed the benefits.

Commercial fishermen's nets can measure up to a mile long and endangered species were reportedly being caught up in them off the coast of California and Oregon.

So the industry’s Pacific Fishery Management Council made the proposal to stop their use in 2015.

It applied to less than 20 fishing vessels, who began implementing the measure the following year under former President Barack Obama.

The most controversial animal killings

Show all 6

1/6The most controversial animal killings

The most controversial animal killings

Cincinnati Zoo worker shots and kills Harambe, the 17-year-old gorilla

Harambe, a 17-year-old gorilla was shot and killed by a Cincinnati Zoo worker after a three-year-old boy climbed into a gorilla enclosure and was grabbed and dragged by Harambe. The incident was recorded on video and received broad international coverage and commentary, including controversy over the choice to kill Harambe. A number of primatologists and conservationists wrote later that the zoo had no other choice under the circumstances, and that it highlighted the danger of zoo animals in close proximity to humans and the need for better standards of care

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

The most controversial animal killings

Walt Palmer (left), from Minnesota, who killed Cecil, the Zimbabwean lion (pictured here with another lion shot in Africa)

Walter James Palmer has been named by Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force as the shooter of Cecil, a 13-year-old prized lion. He is now wanted by Zimbabwe officials on poaching charges. The lion was protected and the subject of a decade long study by the Wildlife Unit of Oxford University in the UK. He was outfitted with a GPS collar and was killed in Hwange National Park. The Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority and the Safari Operators Association said that two men were charged with poaching in connection to Mr Palmer

The most controversial animal killings

Kendall Jones hunting images

Kendall Jones, a 19-year-old Texas Tech university student, has provoked worldwide fury after posting pictures of herself smiling next to animals she hunted, including a lion, rhinoceros, antelope, leopard, elephant, zebra and hippopotamus

The most controversial animal killings

Rebecca Francis hunting images

Rebecca Francis, a huntress who has killed dozens of wild animals has been sent death wishes by furious social media users after a picture showing her lying down next to a dead giraffe was circulated. Rebecca Francis has a website and Facebook page dedicated to the animals she has killed in hunts across Africa and America. Francis, a prolific hunter who has also co-hosted the television show Eye of the Hunter, regularly posts pictures of herself posing next to dead bears, giraffes, buffaloes and zebras, among other animals. She uses a bow and arrow to kill her prey

The most controversial animal killings

The slaughter of Marius, an 18-month-old healthy giraffe in Copenhagen Zoo

Copenhagen Zoo made the controversial decision to euthanise a healthy giraffe named Marius, which was later dissected and fed to lions as visitors watched. The slaughter sparked a furious backlash from social media users and zoo staff have received death threats by phone and email. Soon after the incident, Copenhagen Zoo faced an international outcry once again after four healthy lions were put down

The most controversial animal killings

Swiss Dählhölzli zoo kills healthy brown bear cub

A Switzerland zoo faced heavy criticism from animal rights groups, after keepers put down a healthy brown bear cub to spare it from being bullied by its dominant male father. The 360 kg male bear Misha had already killed one of his 11-week old cubs in public and was bullying the second, staff at the zoo said, because he was jealous of the attention the cubs were receiving from their mother, Masha. Both adult brown bears had been donated to Bern’s Dählhölzli zoo in 2009. Campaigners condemned staff there for not separating the cubs, who are being referred to as Baby Bear Two and Baby Bear Three, and their mother from Misha after their birth in January

Facebook

Catherine Kilduff, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity conservation group, said the scrapping of the proposal was one of the first ways the Trump administration had targeted endangered species in Pacific waters.

These included fin, humpback and sperm whales, short-fin pilot whales and common bottlenose dolphins. Some of these species have reduced to the hundreds. For a group of humpbacks, there are only 411 whales left.

Leatherback sea turtles, olive-ridley seat turtles and green sea turtles were also affected.

"The Trump administration has declared war on whales, dolphins and turtles off the coast of California," Todd Steiner, director of the California-based Turtle Island Restoration Network, told the LA Times.

"This determination will only lead to more potential litigation and legislation involving this fishery. It’s not a good sign."

Unusual endangered turtle born at ZSL London Zoo

Under the proposal, if any two endangered whales or sea turtles are killed or seriously hurt within a two-year period, the gill net fishery would be closed for up to two years.

If any combination of four short-finned pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins were seriously injured or killed within a two-year period, the practice would also be shut down.

Yet Mr Milstein pointed to a federal study which found that endangered whales that were killed or injured in nets declined from more than 50 in 1992 to one or two per year by 2015.

The number of harmed dolphins and turtles also declined dramatically, but the statistics were disputed by some campaigners.

The Marine Mammals Protection Act still applies and protected areas off the West Coast have been set up which do not allow gill-net fishing.

Ms Kilduff responded that even though the numbers of deaths had reduced, any incident was still extremely significant given the low numbers of some species.

Agencies contributed to this report.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies