Longlines banned in eastern Gulf to protect turtles - al.com

Longlines banned in eastern Gulf to protect turtles - al.com: "In an effort to protect endangered loggerhead sea turtles, federal officials banned commercial longline fishing boats from the eastern half of the Gulf on Wednesday.

The Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council had asked for the emergency closure in January in response to a federal study that suggested the longline fishery was responsible for the deaths of nearly 1,000 turtles within a year and a half."