Conservationists worry that the reopening of fishing grounds closed since 2002 off the coasts of Oregon and California could put the turtles at a greater risk of entanglement.
Catherine Kilduff from the Center for Biological Diversity said the initial ban was to protect rockfish, which have rebounded in population since then. But, she said those same areas being opened up also overlap with critical feeding habitat for leatherback sea turtles in Central California.
