The fight over protecting sea turtles is still raging in NC, with commercial netters increasingly angered by new regulations and incidents of violence against sea turtles on the rise in the state.
Brunswick County recently had a large nest of sea turtles destroyed, prompting hundreds of volunteers to begin looking after the sea turtle nest. Even more shocking, a rare giant sea turtle washed up on the beach in the Topsail Area and appeared to have been tied and dragged to death behind a boat.
This violence comes as angry gill netters now have to face restricted hours and days when using large net mesh gill nets due to sea turtle interactions. The NC commercial fishing industry lost a fight to have less restrictions on gill nets after a lawsuit against the state by the Karen Beasley Turtle Center.
The lawsuit has been settled by the new rules, but anger against sea turtles is at an all-time high among NC commercial fishermen. There is no evidence that commercial anglers committed these crimes, but the timing and unexpected brutality has the recreational angling community and NC environmentalist upset.
For more NC fisheries information see my blog A Dash Of Salty
Comments
Dragging a turtle? Turtles didn't make the new regs.
prove this was done by a commercial fishermen note the word appeared it means not for sure, jeffy some one should slap your stupid ass
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