False Killer Whales: Wounded by Longline Fishing

More SlideshowsThe false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) of Hawai‘i are in trouble. When the Hawai'i-based longline fleet catches yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi, and other target species on its hooks, false killer whales are attracted to this all-you-can-eat buffet and are often wounded or killed by the gear. Earthjustice has gone to court to compel the National Marine Fisheries Service to finally come up with a plan to reduce the damage done to false killer whales. Read full article: Protecting False Killer Whales in Hawai'i.

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Whale snagged on a longline becomes victim of commercial fishing.

Photo: NMFS
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False killer whales are attracted to bait on longlines.

Photo: NMFS
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Struggling to get away, false killer whales are wounded.

Photo: NMFS
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When completely ensnared in longline gear, whales can die.

Photo: NMFS
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When the Hawai'i-based longline fleet catches yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi, and other target species on its hooks, false killer whales are attracted to this all-you-can-eat buffet and are often wounded or killed by the gear.

Photo: NMFS
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Typical injuries include dorsal fin damage that leave the whales unable to swim, gather food or reproduce. Whales can also get tangled in the longliners’ miles of lines and drown.

Photo: NMFS
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False killer whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Earthjustice has gone to court to compel the National Marine Fisheries Service to finally come up with a plan to reduce the damage done to false killer whales.

Photo: NMFS
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Deaths from the longline fishing fleet are occurring at twice the level Hawai‘i’s false killer whales can sustain.

"These are intelligent mammals that deserve not to be indiscriminately killed in order to put a tuna fish sandwich together," says Earthjustice Attorney David Henkins.

Photo: NMFS
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