Definition
and History: Turtle Excluder Device (TED)
In the
1970s, scientists noted a reduction in sea turtle populations
and, following the enactment of the Endangered Species Act,
some species of sea turtles were listed as endangered. Subsequently,
over many years, NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service attempted to determine causes for these reductions.
In the 1980s, they determined that shrimp trawls contributed
to sea turtle mortality. Turtle Excluder Devices (TED) in
shrimp trawl nets were developed and tested throughout the
1980s and ‘90s in efforts to provide safe methods for
turtles to escape almost as soon as they were caught in the
net. Preservation of the shrimp catch was considered in the
development criteria of the many hard and soft TEDs that were
approved for use. But the regulations kept changing to include
different TED designs and dimensions, in part to accommodate
new circumstances, new technological developments, or new
statistics from marine strandings. Although the changes in
regulations over the years frustrated some commercial shrimpers,
they were addressing new findings about populations and life
histories of various species of sea turtles as well as new
information about them in conjunction to bycatch in trawl
nets. For example, in the 1980s, TEDs were developed to accommodate
populations of a small-sized sea turtle, the Kemp’s
ridley. In 2002, parts of Florida were closed to shrimp fishing
because of a large number of the larger leatherback turtle
mortalities. Eventually, NOAA Fisheries concluded that shrimp
trawling is not likely to jeopardize listed sea turtle populations
as long as shrimpers use certified, correctly installed TEDs,
register their vessels, and follow 30-day temporary restrictions
when applicable. The temporary restrictions result from regular
consultation between NOAA Fisheries and marine stranding coordinators.
Technologically,
a TED is a grid in the neck of a shrimp trawl net, which has
an opening in the bottom or top mesh to allow a turtle caught
in the net to escape. When turtles and other large animals
are caught at the mouth of a trawl, they bump into the grid
bars and slide through the opening in the mesh. Shrimp and
other small animals pass through the bars of the grid into
the tailbag or cod end of the trawl net. NOAA Fisheries has
been able to show that TEDs are effective at excluding up
to 97 percent of sea turtles with minimal loss of shrimp.
Over the years, several designs of TEDs were approved and
used. Changes continue to be made, often due to input from
the shrimping industry. In 2004, for example,
the double cover flap design was made more flexible as a result
of observations by shrimpers using the originally approved
design.
Since
1990, TEDs or some comparable apparatus/activity have been
required in foreign shrimp fleets that export wild caught
shrimp to the U.S. Also in 2002, NOAA Fisheries, at the request
of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, proposed
that all Gulf shrimp vessels be required to carry a permit
to trawl in federal waters. To learn more, go to the history
of regulation for sea turtle conservation.
To allow
larger sea turtles to safely escape shrimp trawls, regulations
guiding the size and design of TEDs were modified most recently
in 2003. Download Federal
Register/Vol. 68, No. 35/Friday, February 21, 2003/Rules and
Regulations (448KB PDF file)
for more information. The new
regulations standardized the types of TEDs required to be
used throughout federal and state waters of the Atlantic and
Gulf of Mexico, and increased the size of the opening in the
shrimp net. Only one soft TED, the Parker TED, is now permitted.
Modifications as well as alternative harvest methods such
as restricted tow times in certain state waters have been
tried prior to the adoption of these most recently published
modifications.
The final
rule requires that all shrimp trawlers fishing in the offshore
waters of the southeastern U.S. (South Atlantic and Gulf of
Mexico waters) and the inshore waters of Georgia and South
Carolina use one of the following TEDs in each net rigged
for fishing: a double cover flap TED, a single-grid hard Ted
with a 71-inch opening or a Parker soft TED with a 96-inch
opening. Because fishermen found that the originally approved
design of the double cover flap TED allowed shrimp to escape,
NMFS tested a modified design, which is currently accepted
for use.
Shrimp
trawlers fishing the inshore waters of all states other than
Georgia and South Carolina must use either a single grid hard
TED with a 44-inch escape opening, a Parker soft Ted with
a 56-inch opening or a hooped hard Ted with a 35-inch by 27-inch
opening. Trawlers in these areas also have the option to use
either of the larger, offshore TED openings for single grid
hard TEDS (double cover or 71-inch openings).
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Instructions:
