Contact:  Stephanie Dorezas              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
                                         4/9/98
          

A new soft Turtle Excluder Device (TED), designed to allow threatened and endangered sea turtles to safely escape shrimp fishermen's nets, while providing an additional option to shrimpers, has been approved for an 18-month trial period by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today.

This interim rule allows shrimpers the option of immediately using a new soft TED design --- the Parker soft TED. Previously approved soft TEDs were disallowed in areas of high sea turtle abundance off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and South Carolina on March 1, 1997, and were disallowed throughout the rest of the southeast region on December 19, 1997, because of an increased occurrence of sea turtle strandings believed to be attributable in part to soft TED use in these areas. The Fisheries Service worked closely with industry representatives during 1997 to address identified problems with soft TEDs and to develop new soft TED designs for testing. The approval of the Parker soft TED resulted from these efforts.

To ensure that the Parker soft TED is effective under commercial fishing conditions, the Fisheries Service has developed an enforcement operations plan, an observer program, and a soft TED manufacturer's training program.

"The new regulations provide an option for shrimpers who prefer soft TEDs over currently approved hard TEDs" said Dr. Andrew Kemmerer, the Fisheries Service southeast regional administrator. "This interim rule allows the Fisheries Service to use a cautious approach to reintroduce a soft TED design by providing for an intensive 18 month testing period."

The Parker soft TED does not use the slack, large mesh webbing that is known to cause turtle entanglements in previously approved soft TEDs. Instead, the Parker soft TED consists of a single triangular panel, composed of webbing of two different mesh sizes, that form a barrier for turtles inside a trawl and that angles toward an escape opening in the top of the trawl. The Parker soft TED was tested in a variety of trawl sizes and styles. During testing, the Parker TED successfully excluded 100 percent of the turtles introduced into the trawl, and is especially adaptable under certain environmental conditions; shrimp loss was approximately 9 percent.

The Parker TED will be approved for permanent use only if the enforcement and observer data verify the effectiveness and correct use of this TED under commercial fishing conditions.