Designing Excluder Devices to Reduce Juvenile Sea Turtle Bycatch
A project to develop a new type of turtle excluder device (TED) in collaboration with the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery recently wrapped up its first round of prototype testing, and early results show promise to dramatically reduce the number of small turtles caught in shrimp trawl nets.
This NOAA-led bycatch reduction project was approved by the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group as part of its second restoration plan, and will help restore sea turtle species injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
A goal of this project is to work with shrimpers to identify new TED designs that are more effective in excluding small-bodied turtles than current TED designs. Working with the shrimpers, NOAA is identifying new TED designs to improve escape and survival of small turtles with minimal impact on shrimp harvest.
