Comment from Therese DeBing

Please do not expand the Hawaii-based shallow set longline swordfish fishery. Since the death of even small numbers of these sea turtles has serious consequences for their future survival, increasing the number of sea turtles that could be killed or injured in the swordfish longline fishery is inappropriate. The expansion of the Hawaii-based longline fishery would Violate the Endangered Species Act (ESA) since the ESA requires NMFS to ensure that sea turtle populations not only continue to survive, but recover; Violate the Marine Mammal Protection Act since the Hawaii pelagic longline fishery is known to injure and kill humpback whales and false killer whales, but NMFS has yet to take the required steps reduce fishery-related harm to these species; Violate the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MTBA) since the existing Hawai'i-based longline fishery kills migratory birds that are protected under the MBTA and an expanded fishery will kill more, and Violate the the Magnuson-Stevens Act since this federal law requires fishery managers to end overfishing immediately and rebuild overfished populations of bigeye and yellowfin tuna, not increase catch levels of these species in the Hawaii longline fishery. Thank you, Therese DeBing