Man pulls unfortunate victim out of shrimping net
Shrimp fishing is probably the single greatest threat to sea turtles. Shrimp trawlers drag nets that scoop up everything in their paths, with unwanted animals comprising up to 80 percent of the weight of the total catch. This practice has been devastating to sea turtles, which are air-breathers and thus drown when trapped underwater by the nets. Scientists estimate that about 150,000 turtles die in shrimp nets worldwide each year, a huge drain on fragile, endangered populations. The installation of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), can inexpensively and efficiently reduce sea turtle by catch from shrimp trawlers by as much as 97 percent. TEDs are metal grids that fit into the narrow part of the funnel shaped shrimp nets, allowing small animals such as shrimp to pass through and remain trapped, while permitting turtles to escape through a nearby hole. Unfortunately, some shrimpers refuse to use TEDs, claiming that their yields and gear suffer from TEDs use, despite evidence to the contrary. Because of the United States’ commitment to protect endangered sea turtles, US law requires the use of TEDs by domestic shrimp trawlers and permits the importation of shrimp only from nations that have adopted a nationwide program that will provide sea turtles “comparable” protection to the US program. If foreign nations do not meet this requirement, a US embargo is to be placed on their shrimp. In 1996, four Asian countries filed a complaint before the World Trade Organization, claiming that this US law, designed to protect turtles, constituted an unfair barrier to trade. The trade-focused WTO agreed, and since then the United States has been struggling to implement its TEDs policy in ways acceptable to the WTO. The United States currently follows a system where some nations are certified entirely, while other imports are certified on a shipment-by-shipment basis. While this compromise satisfies the WTO, turtle advocates object to shipment-by-shipment certification because it seriously undermines the financial incentives for other nations to implement effective sea turtle conservation strategies.