Sea Turtle Defenders Sue on Endangered Species Act

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (CN) – The National Marine Fisheries Service and the Secretary of Commerce refuse to protect endangered sea turtles from “capture, injury, and death in the Gulf of Mexico Bottom Longline Fishery,” though the fishery has been violating the Endangered Species Act since 2006, environmentalists say in Federal Court.     Plaintiffs – the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, the Center For Biological Diversity, Defenders Of Wildlife, Florida Wildlife Federation, Gulf Restoration Network, and the Turtle Island Restoration Network – seek declaratory and injunctive relief.