A federal decision to expand the fishing zone for sablefish (black cod) on the West Coast resulted in a decision by conservation groups to sue the feds over the action. Sablefish pot gear sits on the ocean floor, but with long lines at the ends that extend to the surface. And that's where the Center for Biological Diversity and the Turtle Island Restoration Network have an issue: they fear Pacific leatherback sea turtles can get tangled in the vertical lines, and get killed by the entanglement.
The turtles are small in number and protected under the Endangered Speces Act, and the federal decision puts sablefish pots in areas identified as leatherback critical habitat. Catherine Kilduff is an attorney at CBD and Todd Steiner is the Executive Director of TIRN; they talk to us about their concerns and their lawsuit.