Scuba Diving club,
Southern California
Sea Turtles Finally Protected in the Gulf of Mexico,
Thanks to TEDs
Endangered and threatened sea turtles will have a new
lease on life when a new federal rule takes effect in the Gulf of Mexico.
Scientists with National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, the federal agency responsible for
the management of ocean fisheries, expect that annual deaths of endangered
leatherback sea turtles will decline 97% and that annual deaths of threatened
loggerheads will decrease 94% as a result of the new protections.
NOAA Fisheries issued a rule on Feb. 20,
2003 requiring U.S. shrimp fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico and the South
Atlantic to use larger turtle excluder device (TED) openings in their nets.
Shrimpers in the South Atlantic were required to start using the larger TEDs
April 15. The new rule goes into effect in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, Aug.
21, six months after the new protection announcement.
TEDs act as escape hatches for sea turtles. Current
TEDs are too small to allow large, mature sea turtles - particularly
leatherbacks, loggerheads and greens-to escape from shrimp nets. All sea
turtles in U.S. waters are listed as either endangered or threatened under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA).
Oceana led a coalition of environmental
groups during the last two years to obtain stronger protections for sea
turtles. Oceana also organized critical support from Congressional allies and
leading scientists and spearheaded efforts to generate public debate on this
issue. Of the approximately 8,000 letters sent to NOAA Fisheries on the rule
during the public comment period, 93% (some 7,700) supported additional
protections for sea turtles.
"We think this is win-win for the
turtles and fishermen," said Charlotte Gray, marine wildlife scientist for
Oceana. "The data is clear: TEDs save sea turtles and many shrimpers,
particularly those in Georgia, have used TEDs with larger openings for years
with minimal shrimp loss."
NOAA Fisheries' data for both the South
Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico regions suggest that properly installed and
operated TEDs with larger openings lose between zero and 2% of shrimp caught.
The federal government's economic analysis estimates that the cost of
retrofitting a net to comply with the new rule is $220 per net.
In addition, financial assistance is
available to shrimpers. Earlier this year, the U.S. Congress passed a $35
million economic package for shrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico and South
Atlantic. Economic aid to shrimpers to ensure widespread and proper use of TEDs
and other bycatch reduction devices in the fishery is an eligible use of the
federal funds. Louisiana has been allocated more than $8.6 million (Texas: more
than $5.5 million; Florida: more than $6.6 million) as part of this program.
"We support assistance for
shrimpers," noted Gray, "because it ensures that local shrimpers can
maintain their livelihood while still protecting the lives of endangered and
threatened sea turtles."
Source: Oceana 
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Posted September 9, 2003