depending upon the target species, which include tunas and 

 billfishes. The target species also determines the depth at 

 which the hooks are suspended from the main fishing line. In 

 some cases, fishermen attach a "cold light" or cyalume light 

 stick to the line just above the bait to attract animals (O'Hara 

 et al. 1986, p. 77-81) . 



Longlines may also be used to catch bottom fish, such as 

 snapper and grouper. Reports from Hawaii indicate that sea 

 turtles may become entangled in such gear (O'Hara et al. 1986, p. 

 144) . 



Atlantic and Gulf Swordfish Fishery ; This fishery is 

 conducted in deeper continental shelf and slope waters. 

 In the New England fishery, up to 40 miles of line with 

 400-2,000 hooks are set out at a depth of 40 feet for 

 the mainline and another 20 feet for the hooks. 

 Vessels in Florida use shorter mainlines set deeper. A 

 Japanese longline fishery for tuna uses mainlines up to 

 80 miles in length, with hooks at depths over 150 feet. 

 While the U.S. swordfish fishing effort remained steady 

 or increased since the early 1980s, the Japanese 

 longlining effort in U.S. waters has been increasingly 

 restricted (O'Hara et al. 1986, p. 78-79). Recently, 

 restrictions aimed at reducing fishing effort on 

 swordfish has redirected longlining effort at tuna. 

 During 1978-1981, a period of relatively high effort, 

 it has been estimated that the Japanese longline 

 fishery captured 330 turtles in U.S. waters, of which 

 204 were captured in the Gulf of Mexico where overall 

 effort was lower compared to the Atlantic. Most of the 

 identified turtles were leatherbacks . Captured turtles 

 were hooked in the mouth or shoulder or entangled in 

 the leader. Mortality ranged from seven percent in the 

 Gulf of Mexico to 30 percent in the Atlantic (O'Hara et 

 al. 1986, p. 79-80). The lack of data from the U.S. 

 swordfishery and the demonstrated catch of sea turtles 

 in the Japanese fishery is a cause for concern. 



Seines ; Purse seines are floating nets designed to surround 

 fish (Figure 6) . These nets can be closed at the bottom by means 

 of a free-running line through one or more rings attached to the 

 bottom (O'Hara et al. 1986, p. 195). In the southeastern United 

 States, where sea turtles are distributed, purse seines are used 

 to capture menhaden. Grouse (1984) noted that sea turtles are 

 reported to be captured in these nets, but documentation is 

 lacking. 



Both green and leatherback sea turtles have been reported 

 captured in beach seines in Florida and Georgia (Hillestad et al. 

 1982, p. 490). 



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