Collateral Damage
It is estimated that thousands of sea turtles are injured or killed each year as a result of commercial fishing activity in U.S. and international waters. Many of these injuries and deaths take place while turtles are migrating through fishing areas. The turtles, attracted to the bait, get caught on the hooks or in nets used to catch fish. Sea turtles are air-breathing reptiles so when they are caught underwater in nets or on lines, they drown when unable to reach the surface for air. They can also sustain internal injuries from hooks or external injuries from entanglement in ropes, including strangulation or amputation.
Bycatch is a serious threat to sea turtles because it can occur anywhere in the ocean, making it hard to implement multi-national agreement that improve equipment requirements. In the United States, sea turtles are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Beyond U.S. waters, there is no force of law to initiate and support bycatch reduction programs.
Taking A Closer Look
Turtle Excluder Devices
The use of Turtle Excluder Devices or TEDs, two-dimensional net inserts with large escape openings, in shrimp and other trawl net fisheries. Trawls are wide-mouthed nets that taper to a small end to hold the catch. Further, a shift by longline fleets, which positions miles of gear with one mainline and thousands of secondary lines and hooks, from “J” hooks to circle hooks to reduce the number and severity of sea turtle interactions with longline gear. Time and area closures have been instituted in the scallop dredge fleet and various gill net fisheries to protect sea turtles.
