The Issue
Incidental capture, injury, and mortality during fishing
operations are a major threat to marine turtles. To reduce
the mortality of sea turtles incidentally captured in shrimp
trawl gear, NMFS, in partnership with the commercial shrimp
trawl industry and others, developed turtle
excluder devices (TEDs). Industry representatives continue
to participate in developing and assessing new TED designs
and modifications. TEDs large enough to exclude even the
largest sea turtles are now required in shrimp trawl nets.
TEDs are also required in the southeastern summer flounder
trawl fishery, and NMFS is looking at the applicability of
TEDs to other trawl fisheries that interact with sea turtles.
Current Management Actions Related to Sea Turtle
Bycatch
Regulatory Background
Sea turtles are incidentally taken and killed as a result
of numerous activities, including fishing operations in the
Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic seaboard. Under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) and its implementing regulations, taking
sea turtles is prohibited (with exceptions identified in 50
CFR 223.206 or in accordance with the terms and conditions
of a biological opinion issued under section
7 of the ESA or an incidental take permit issued under section
10 of the ESA). The incidental taking of turtles during
shrimp or summer flounder trawling is exempted from the take
prohibition if the conservation measures specified in the
sea turtle conservation regulations (50
CFR 223.206, 50
CFR 223.207) are adopted. The regulations require most
shrimp trawlers operating in the southeastern United States
to install a NMFS-approved TED in each net that is rigged
for shrimp fishing to enable the escape of sea turtles. NMFS
gradually phased in TED requirements and has provided numerous
workshops and programs to work cooperatively with the fishing
industry on TED issues.
In 2003, NMFS issued a final rule (68 FR 8456,
February 21, 2003) amending the sea turtle conservation regulations
to protect large loggerhead, green, and leatherback sea turtles.
The final rule requires that all shrimp trawlers fishing
in the offshore waters of the southeastern United States
and the inshore waters of Georgia and South Carolina use
specific TEDs and TED openings large enough for these larger
turtles to escape. Also in 2003, NMFS launched the Strategy
for Sea Turtle Conservation and Recovery in Relation to Atlantic
and Gulf of Mexico Fisheries to evaluate and address sea
turtle bycatch on a per-gear basis across jurisdictional
and fishing sector boundaries in the Atlantic and Gulf of
Mexico. Click
here for more information on the Sea Turtle Strategy.
The Strategy is currently evaluating trawl gear comprehensively
throughout the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico (see 72 FR 7382,
Feb. 15, 2007) to determine whether TEDs or other measures
may reduce interactions with sea turtles in those fisheries,
many of which have documented takes of sea turtles.
Internationally, NMFS and the U.S. Department of State have
worked with other nations that export shrimp to the United
States to help them develop TED programs similar to the U.S.
program. These programs are now in place in about 15 countries;
for more information please see Public
Law 101-162 (1989). In addition, the first multilateral
binding treaty devoted solely to sea turtle conservation—the Inter-American
Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles
(IAC) (2001) — is another important framework to
further promote TED programs in other countries.
More Information
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