Turtle Island Restoration Network: Finally, the End of Drift and Set Gillnet Fishing in California is in Sight!

California’s coastal waters may soon be free (by 2027) of two of the most destructive fishing methods ever deployed… set gillnets and drift gillnets, thanks to new laws that will finally phase out these outdated and indiscriminate gears! Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing of Assembly Bill 1056 in October 2025 marks a crucial step toward ending California’s set gillnet fishery – an archaic and wasteful practice that has entangled and killed more than 125 species of marine life, including whales, leatherback turtles, dolphins, sharks and sea lion. These massive almost invisible nets, stretching a mile long and 200 feet deep, have entangled thousands (millions?) of untargeted animals over the years. Learn MORE.