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Marine Turtle Newsletter 54:29, © 1991

NMFS Proposes Strengthening Sea Turtle Conservation and Enforcement Regulations

On 29 June 1987, sea turtle conservation regulations were issued that require shrimp fishermen in the southeastern United States to use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) under certain circumstances. In order to improve the enforceability of existing regulations and to act upon the recommendations made in a 1990 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has been developing two sets of regulations. The first will be proposed in June and will seek to improve understanding and compliance with current sea turtle conservation regulations. Last year there were extensive violations by shrimpers not properly using and operating TEDs. Some shrimpers altered the escape openings in the TEDs so that sea turtles could not escape. The amendments we propose would not affect shrimpers who operate lawfully under the regulations; the intended effect is to enhance our ability to enforce and increase compliance. In brief, the proposed rule would make the following changes:

1. specify standards for hard TEDs,
2. prohibit certain modifications to TEDs and clarify allowable TED modifications,
3. require that an approved TED be installed in each trawl rigged for fishing when TEDs are required (reason: vessels at sea without TEDs installed, but not trawling, are not cited; consequently fishermen haul back their nets at the approach of an enforcement vessel to avoid citation), and
4. make it illegal to possess shrimp taken in violation of the regulations.

The second set of regulations, which will be proposed in July, will implement recommendations made by the NAS and an internal NOAA review team for additional measures to reduce the capture of sea turtles in fisheries. The proposed rule will require increased sea turtle conservation measures by shrimp trawlers; specifically:

5. permit relaxation of TED requirements when conditions do not allow effective use of TEDs (under certain conditions, such as large amounts of seaweed, NMFS will be able to suspend the TED requirements provided the vessel owners pay for observers to monitor sea turtle mortality and determine whether the adverse conditions still apply),
6. exempt beam trawls, skimmer trawls, and wing nets from TED requirements (at this time, NMFS has no evidence that these nets capture sea turtles),
7. require shrimp retention studies for new TEDs,
8. require the use of TEDs in all areas (inshore and offshore) at all times,
9. require the use of TEDs by all shrimp trawlers that use power or mechanically assisted trawl retrieval systems,
10. require trawlers fishing for rock shrimp to use TEDs, and
11. permit seasonal area closures to shrimping to protect turtles.

To enhance an understanding of these initiatives among constituent groups, we plan to undertake the following communications strategy in the next 30-60 days:

12. inform participants in our March meeting on TEDs about the proposed enforcement regulations before they are published,
13. inform shrimpers, conservationists, and scientists of the proposed enforcement regulations and, through dialogue, ensure they understand the reasons and purposes of the regulations,
14. discuss with these same groups possible elements in a package of conservation regulations,
15. hold public hearings on the conservation regulations, and
16. inform interested parties about when the amendments are intended to go into effect, and when the amendments have gone into effect.

Source: excerpted from an Information Memorandum from John A. Knauss, Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, U. S. Dept. Commerce; 30 May 1991.