“In summary, because we have substantially accomplished or begun actions requested in your petition and determined that emergency or interim measures or regulations are not warranted at this time, we are denying your petition.” – 8-3-11 NOAA denial of Oceana Petition
“While the June 2010 spike in Mississippi sea turtle strandings correlated strongly with the opening and closing of the Mississippi shrimp season, we did not see any association with fishing effort to the high level of strandings that occurred in early 2011. Furthermore, we do not have evidence of any significant skimmer trawl fishing effort in the area during the time of the peak strandings this year, particularly given state fishery closures during this period kept most, if not all, of these shallow-water boats tied to the dock.” – 7-25-11 NOAA letter denying the Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network, Sea Turtle Conservancy, and Defenders of Wildlife petitions.