Turtle Safety

Sea turtles, which have been around for millions of years, are on the brink of extinction. In many countries, people consider their meat and eggs as prized delicacies. Often times they are just killed for their beautiful shell. However, the leading cause of sea turtle death in the US can be attributed to shrimp fishermen and the nets they use to catch shrimp (1). Each year, thousands of sea turtles are carelessly killed even though there are measures which can be taken to avoid this catastrophe. With proper usage of a device called the Turtle Excluder Device (TED), shrimp fishermen could reduce sea turtle deaths in their nets by 97% (5) thereby increasing the likelihood for survival of all six species of sea turtles found in US waters that are currently protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (7).

Sea turtles are beautiful saltwater reptiles that have been on earth for over 150 million years (2). They have streamlined bodies and flipper-like limbs that allow them to swim long distances in a relatively short period of time. Like all other animals, sea turtles too must have access to oxygen. When they are active, they must return to the ocean surface to breathe every few minutes. Sea turtles live most of their lives in the ocean but the females must return to land in order to lay their eggs. Scientists believe that nesting female turtles return to the same beach on which they were born. They must swim long distances from their feeding grounds and just how they find their nesting beaches is unknown (7).

All six species of sea turtles that are found in US waters are protected under the Endangered Species act of 1973. These include the green, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, leatherback, loggerhead and olive ridley sea turtles (7). Under the ESA, the hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, and leatherback sea turtles are considered endangered while the loggerhead, green and olive ridley sea turtles are listed as threatened.

The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is a medium to large bodied sea turtle that is actually brownish in color. Adult shell lengths range from 0.9-1.1 meters and weights average 90-137 kilograms. these turtles are primarily a herbivorous species and the young can often be found in Florida waters, especially in areas with an abundance of sea grasses. The decline in these turtles these turtles has been mostly due to commercial harvest for eggs and food, as well as leather and jewelry (7).

The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is small to medium in size with an attractively colored shell of thick overlapping scales. This shell is the source of "tortoise shell." Hawksbill turtles are named accordingly because of their hawk-like beak. They range in size from 45-90 kilograms in weight and 0.8-1.0 meters in length. Commercial exploitation is the main cause of the continued decline of the hawksbill turtle because of the high demand for "tortoise shell" products (7).

The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepodochelys kempii) is the smallest and most endangered sea turtle. The adult size does not exceed 0.8 meters in length and they usually weigh between 36 and 45 kilograms. These are commonly olive gray but they are black when they are young. Kemp ridley turtles inhabit the coastal waters and bays of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. This particular species has a very peculiar nesting ritual called the arribada. This is an event where tens of thousands of turtles would return to the beaches to nest. Now the number that return during the arribada has been reduced to less than 1,000 nesting females. During this time these turtles are very vulnerable. The decline in their numbers has been attributed to human activities such as egg collecting and killing for meat and other products. The Kemp ridley has been subject to high levels of incidental take by shrimp trawling and is perhaps the species that is most affected by the shrimping industry (7).

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest sea turtle having achieved lengths of 1.85 meters and weights of 637 kilograms. This species does not have scales but rather it is covered with a firm, rubbery skin with seven longitudinal ridges, or keels as they are known. This species faces significant threats from incidental take in commercial fisheries and from the harvest of eggs and flesh (7).

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is a large reddish-brown sea turtle with s disproportionately large head. Their lengths range from 0.85-1.0 meters and the weigh between 68-182 kilograms. These are the most common sea turtle encountered in the southeastern US The most significant threats to the loggerheads are commercial fisheries, pollution, coastal development, and incidental take by shrimp trawling. Shrimping is considered to have played a significant role in the decline of the loggerhead sea turtle (7).

The olive ridley sea turtle (lepodochelys olivacea) is quite similar to the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle with the exceptions that it has a thinner shell and a smaller, more defined skull. The shell of the olive ridley is heart-shaped to round and they vary in color from grey-brown to black to olive. This is one of the smaller sea turtles with a shell length of about 0.8 meters and a weight of about 45 kilograms. Olive ridleys have been overharvested of their eggs and they are used for international trade with Japan. These turtles are often caught in shrimp trawls and gill nets (7).

Incidental capture of sea turtles in shrimp nets is the biggest human-caused threat to these endangered animals in the US which suggests a much larger problem globally (2). A 1990 National Academy of Sciences study estimated the annual mortality of sea turtles in the US to be between 11,000 to 55,000 before the implementation of TEDs (1). More than 85 countries besides the United States are involved in shrimp fishing and most of them do not require shrimp boats to use TEDs. It is believed that more than 155,000 turtles may drown each year due to this failure to use TEDs (2).

Turtle Excluder Devices are "trap doors" that are attached to shrimp nets and reduce sea turtle mortality by 97%. These devices are inexpensive with prices ranging from $50 to $400 (1). The US shrimp industry, at first, believed that these devices would result in a collapse of the shrimp industry. However, TEDs have not significantly reduced the shrimp harvest while reducing the mortality rate of sea turtles.

So why not require all imported shrimp to come from ships equipped with TEDs? Well, on December 29, 1995 a federal judge ruled in favor of a lawsuit brought about by the Sea Turtle Restoration Project forcing all countries that export shrimp to the United States to adopt sea turtle conservation measures for their shrimp fleets by May 1, 1996, or face an embargo of their shrimp products (6). Prior to this ruling, only 14 countries were required to use turtle excluder devices on their shrimp boats. This lawsuit requires the U.S. Department of State to ban the importation of shrimp from all nations that have not reduced sea turtle mortality by 97% which is the level that can be reached from the proper use of TEDs (6).

It seems that things are starting to head in the right direction for these endangered sea turtles but in actuality the fight is far from over. To deal with the problem of the Kemp ridley sea turtle, the National Marine Fisheries Service constructed an "Emergency Response Plan" that would monitor turtle mortality weekly and increase enforcement when turtle strandings exceeded historical averages for two consecutive weeks. In 1994, 2149 sea turtles stranded, including 565 Kemp’s ridleys. in 1995, with the government’s ERP in full operation, 2,175 turtles stranded, including at least 373 Kemp’s ridleys (4). ERP was inadequate to solve this chronic problem and a lawsuit was filed by Earth Island Institute, HEART, and The Humane Society of the US The lawsuit calls for closing of the critical Kemp’s ridley habitat in the Gulf of Mexico to shrimp fishing.

Another way in which the government is not solving the sea turtle problem is by considering to not reauthorize the Endangered Species Act. The ESA has been considered unwieldy, expensive and outmoded by Congress (5). The Young/Pombo bill, which passed the House Resources Committee in October 1995, would allow shrimp fishermen to be exempt from using Turtle Excluder Devices if the shrimpers made donations to conservation programs for sea turtles (5). However, what would be the point of conservation programs if there weren’t any turtles left to protect?

US Public Law 101-162, the shrimp embargo order, is currently being appealed by the National Fisheries Industry and the US government. It was under this law that the US State Department extended embargo provisions to countries outside the Caribbean area and required all shrimp imported into the US to be caught from boats using TEDs. Thus, all imported shrimp products had to be from certified countries. However, shrimp from non-certified countries were able to enter the United States if they were produced in aquaculture operations and caught in the wild by hand, wing, skimmer and similar nets known to harmless to sea turtles. An October 8 order restricted shrimp from being imported from non-certified countries. The appeal is to allow shrimp to be imported from non-certified countries from shrimp fisheries that are deemed sea turtle safe. The problem here is that the October 8 order and this confusion between sea turtle safe shrimp from non-certified countries removes incentives for individual trawl boat operators to install TEDs prior to directives from their governments. Before the court order, shrimp producers were being encouraged to install TEDs even if their governments needed more time to pass laws requiring them to do so (8).

What we can do as consumers to help protect the sea turtle is to purchase turtle-safe shrimp This insures that the shrimp you have purchased is from ships which use Turtle Excluding Devices (3). Turtle-safe shrimp is a consumer-based to for the protection of endangered sea turtles much the way dolphin-safe tuna was a tool for the protection of dolphins. By supporting fishermen who are conscientiously using TEDs to preserve sea turtles, we are providing and incentive to others to follow their example.

WEBSITES CITED

1. http://www.earthisland.org/ei/strp/strpted.html

2. http://www.earthisland.org/ei/strp/strpprob.html

3. http://www.earthisland.org/ei/strp/tsafe1dry.html

4. http://www.igc.apc.org/ei/strp/0396gulfc.html

5. http://www.igc.apc.org/ei/strp/0396saveesa.html

6. http://www.igc.apc.org/ei/strp/0396victory.html

7. http://www.kingfish.ssp.nmfs.gov/tmcintyr/turtles/turtle.html

8. http://www.nfi.org/pressrel/961029NJGO.html

A website to find out where you can procure turtle-safe shrimp:

1. http://www.zbindustries.com/turtle.html

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