Feds reverse Southern California fishing restrictions meant to protect sea turtle
After temporarily prohibiting large-mesh drift gillnet fishing to protect migrating threatened loggerhead sea turtles in waters off the coast of Southern California in May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries announced that they will reopen the area for commercial fishing in August. The agency says in an announcement set to be released on Thursday that the sea surface temperatures off the West Coast — in an area stretching from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County to the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego County called the Southern California Bight — has returned to normal or below normal, and El Niño conditions are no longer present.