Amanda Keledjian is a marine scientist at Oceana. This week, the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) released a proposed
regulation that would help prevent sea turtle deaths from shrimp
fishing by requiring all skimmer trawls operating in the Gulf of
Mexico to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs). Oceana and other
concerned organizations welcome this exciting news after having
asked NMFS to address ongoing sea turtle mortalities and enforce
its own protective regulations that are crucial to the recovery
and survival of these threatened and endangered species. Turtle
excluder devices have effectively reduced the number of sea
turtles that drown as a result of commercial fishing activities
each year, and NMFS estimates that this new rule could save more
than 5,500 sea turtles! When properly attached to fishing nets,
TEDs act as an escape hatch and allow captured turtles to swim
freely away while shrimp accumulate in the net. However, many
skimmer trawl boats have been exempt from TED requirements and
were in