Countywide : Gill-Net Fishing Ban Sought to Protect Whales
Rep. Robert Badham (R-Newport Beach) has asked federal authorities to declare a moratorium on fishing with gill nets in the migratory path of the California gray whale, as a result of six whales having died from being caught accidentally in the nets.
Argyle Nelson, Badham’s administrative assistant, said the congressman is seeking the moratorium because the gray whale is an endangered species.
Badham, a former state assemblyman, sponsored the law designating the gray whale the California state mammal.
Nelson said Badham requested the fishing restriction in a letter to William Gordon, director of the U.S. Commerce Department’s national marine fisheries service.
Gordon was unavailable for comment Monday.
Nelson said that although the commercial fishermen netted the whales by accident, they nonetheless violated federal law.
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