Turtle Excluder Devices: Good for Sea Turtles, Good for People, and Good for Business

 Peter A. Fugazzotto

Abstract

Turtle Excluder Devices in shrimp nets protect more than just sea turtles. Not only do TEDs prevent the needless drowning of turtles, but they also protect overall marine biodiversity by allowing other species to escape from trawl nets. TEDs benefit commercial fisheries and coastal communities through reduction in bycatch. The economies of local communities are especially impacted by declining local catches as a result of mechanized trawling and the export-oriented economy that depletes locally consumed resources. In the US, the Sea Turtle Restoration Project has created a cooperative program between family shrimpers, environmentalists, retailers, and consumers, which creates incentives for shrimpers to properly use TEDs by increasing their access to the growing natural food industry in the US. The burgeoning US consumer market for environmentally- and socially-responsible products (such as tree-free paper, Dolphin-Safe tuna, and cruelty-free products) provides an opportunity for those using the best-available standards and technologies to benefit. TEDs are an important part of an overall sea turtle protection strategy, which also must include issues such as the creation of marine protected areas, limiting fishing effort, and finding solutions for other impactful fishery techniques, such as longlining and gillnetting

Discussion

Imagine a world where there are no more sea turtles. No females crawling up the beaches, no hatchlings scrambling to the sea, no turtles swimming among the coral. Imagine a world where there are no more fish in the sea. Where fishing nets are pulled up empty. Imagine a world where people no longer have fish to eat. Coastal people who has survived off the bounty of the sea for generations can no longer feed their children. Coastal communities are decimated as jobs are gone.

This chapter introduces Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), and how we must view them not only in terms of protecting sea turtles, but also in terms of how they help people and strengthen local economies. Ecological sustain- ability is not only about protecting one species or one place, it is also about promoting a framework for enhancing the livelihoods and quality of life of people, ensuring local control of resources for local benefit, and protecting the life support systems of the earth for future generations. As shown by the case of TEDs, it is possible to make simple, technological changes that help us move towards achieving all these goals.

Why do we need TEDs?

For the sea turtles - All seven species of sea turtles have been listed as endangered, threatened or vulnerable. The US National Academy of Sciences has concluded that shrimp trawling kills more sea turtles than all of other humans means combined in US waters, and it is believed that shrimp trawling has the same impact on sea turtle populations throughout the world. It is estimated that 150,000 sea turtles get caught in shrimp nets every year.

For protecting fisheries and marine biodiversity - The UN FAQ estimates that 27 million metric tons of bycatch are discarded every year, equivalent to about one third of the total annual catch that is brought to port. Shrimp trawling accounts for 35 % of the total global bycatch. Scientists have identified trawling as the most important source of human-caused physical disturbance on the ocean's floor, churning sediments on the seabed, crushing or burying marine life, and reducing the structural complexity of the seabed.

For helping coastal fishing communities - Throughout the world, we are seeing declining catches of fish. This means less food for people. For example, the FAQ has reported that demersal fish stocks in the Gulf of Thailand are 1/10^th of what they were 30 years ago. Coastal communities are suffering through competition with mechanized fishing vessels because trawling occurs in the same inshore waters used by traditional small scale fishers. In some instances, once self-sufficient artisanal fishers have turned to collecting bycatch from shrimp trawlers, such as in Cameroon and Mozambique. Subsidies to large-scale industrial fisheries place local fishers at an economic disadvantage. This competition often leads to conflict. In South America, much of the fish caught is not for human consumption but rather as an ingredient in animal feed in North America. It is estimated that one third of production is for fishmeal or secondary products. An FAQ report indicates that 90 % of fish caught is discarded in India, Malaysia, and the United States, meaning less food for people.

For supporting economic development - There is a growing economic disparity between hemispheres. There has been an increase in fishing effort in order to service debt, i.e., harvested as an export, even at the price of local food sources. There is the pressing need for alternative, local sources of income. The increasing catch of undersized fish by trawlers impacts local c fishers. Undersized fish cannot grow to larger size, they are harvested before having the chance to reproduce, and are less economically valuable

What are the benefits of TEDs?

To protect endangered sea turtles - TEDs are a simple, low technology solution that prevents the needless drowning of sea turtles. TEDs allow more than 97 % of sea turtles caught in shrimp nets to escape, thus reducing the impact of trawling on sea turtles. TEDs prevent the needless killing of adult and juvenile sea turtles, which are critical to the continued propagation and survival of the species.

To conserve fishery resources - TEDs reduce the bycatch of other species of fish and marine life, in some cases up to 60 %. The minimization of bycatch also helps make trawling more efficient, as less bycatch equals less fuel used, and less time sorting catch. TEDs also protect fishery stocks allowing adults to propagate the species.

To benefit traditional fisherpeople - TEDs help offset the amount of fish taken by trawlers. TEDs enable fishers to benefit from strong fishery stocks in terms of a local food source and a consistent source of income.

To create economic benefits through a healthy sea turtle population - A healthy sea turtle population can contribute to ecotourism development. Waheed (n.d.) determined the value of viewing marine wildlife was US$19 million per year (with turtles accounting for $4 million in the Maldives. Recent information has shown that ecotourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism economy. A healthy sea turtle population can support limited, managed egg harvesting programs for local communities. In Costa Rica, the community of Ostional has been legally harvesting sea turtle eggs in exchange for protecting the beach from poachers. Without a healthy population this harvesting cannot be justified

How can fishers use TEDs to their economic advantage?

The Sea Turtle Restoration Project (STRP) believes that fishers can use increased environmental protection to their economic advantage. As public awareness grows about the state of the environment, increasing numbers of people are willing to buy, and pay higher prices, for products that help protect the environment. People are recognizing that cheaper is not always better, especially when thinking about health, the environment, and future generations.

Increasingly in the US, there is consumer interest in environmentally- friendly products. The natural foods industry, which is based on organic foods used without the use of pesticides, has been the strongest segment of the retail food industry. And this consumer choice ranges widely from cruelty-free shampoos to dolphin-safe tuna to beef produced without the use of steroids and antibiotics. The products are providing consumers with an environmental choice and providing jobs for people.

One example of this type of environment and jobs program is a cooperative program in the US among shrimpers, retailers, consumers, and environmentalists: the Turtle-Safe® Shrimp Certification Program.

In 1995, in response to lax government enforcement of US TED laws and cases of shrimpers purposefully disabling TEDs, STRP launched a cooperative program with shrimpers in order to provide an economic incentive for using TEDs properly. STRP designed a program to independently certify shrimp from trawlers that sign legally binding agreements with STRP requiring the use of TEDs and permitting us to conduct unannounced spot inspections of their vessels to ensure that they are properly using TEDs.

STRP has played a major role in educating the public and retailers about the availability of Turtle-Safe shrimp. We have placed advertisements; we have secured news coverage; we have designed fact sheets and brochures; we have talked to workers at restaurants and foodstores. What began as a good idea has turned into a positive program for the shrimpers and for the sea turtles, that also allow retailers and consumers to participate.

To date, we certify on average 1.5 million kg of shrimp every year. Turtle-Safe shrimp is now offered in several important consumer markets in the US, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Georgia, the Pacific Northwest, and Colorado. Currently, the nation's second and third largest natural food store chains are offering Turtle-Safe shrimp to their customers.

How do TEDs fit into the larger sea turtle protection picture?

TEDs as One Step in the Right Direction - Many people have complained that TEDs are not the end all solution to the ongoing crisis that sea turtles face. We agree, but we think that TEDs are an integral and necessary part of a complex plan to protect sea turtles. Protecting nesting beaches from development does not prevent sea turtles from drowning in shrimp nets. Finding other means of livelihood for egg poachers does not prevent sea turtles from drowning in shrimp nets. But TEDs do, and therefore must be included in comprehensive sea turtle protection programs.

Even with all their benefits, TEDs are only a technical fix that help mitigate some of the impacts of fishing activities, and there is much else that we need to do to protect sea turtles: we need to close sensitive areas to fishing (in the US, the effort to create marine protected areas dedicated to sea turtles); reduce in fishing efforts; examine the impacts of trawling on tropical sea bottoms, and; examine of other fishery impacts beyond shrimp trawl vessels (longlines and gillnets).

STRP continues to stand strong in our call for the global use of TEDs and will continue to ensure that steps are taken to make this dream a reality, from the courts of the US to the docks of Costa Rica to the beaches of India. And we invite you all to join us in this effort to protect the endangered sea turtles.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the ASEAN Sea Turtle Symposium for the opportunity to present a paper and participate in discussions to increase sea turtle protection efforts worldwide. I would also like to the thank the LaFetra South- North Exchange Program for providing financial assistance that has enabled STRP to participate in this symposium.

References

Waheed, A., (n.d.) Economic Value of Marine Ecotourism in the Maldives.