Shrimp Trawler
When it comes to shrimp, the concerned consumer can feel as if she is caught between a sea turtle and a mangrove tree: The former is a historic victim of wild shrimp-catching; the latter, of shrimp-farming. But the threat to both of these species is probably on the wane. Wild shrimp are caught by trawlers (boats that drag nets) in waters close to the shore. In the United States, shrimp are caught in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coasts of the Carolinas and Georgia. (There is also a small cold-water shrimp fishery off the Maine coast.) In the past, shrimp-boat nets would indeed trap other animals, sea turtles among them. But in the past few years, the industry has insisted that each boat be equipped with a Turtle Excluder Device, a metal grid that strains out and eliminates the turtles. According to Eddie Gordon, executive director of Wild American Shrimp Inc., “Ninety-nine point nine percent of all boats are pulling these TEDS.” And it’s not just out of love of turtles. “Shrimpers want to catch shrimp,” he said.