South Carolina and Georgia have apparently been declining at a 

 rate of at least three percent per year (N. Frazer, pers. conrai.)* 

 Recent modeling of the population dynamics of U.S. loggerhead 

 populations suggests that the many nesting conservation efforts 

 in the southeastern U.S. will not reverse this decline unless 

 incidental capture in shrimp trawls ends (Grouse et al. 1987). 



Our understanding of sea turtle biology and our inability to 

 anticipate problems created by new fishing technology suggest 

 that incidental capture may become the major short-term problem 

 for sea turtle populations even as hunting and commercial trade 

 pressures may be reduced. As well, we are only now coming to 

 recognize the hazards posed to sea turtles by discarded fishing 

 gear and other debris (Balazs 1985) . This, too, is a threat that 

 is only now being addressed. 



The WATS I panel discussions on management options and 

 conservation identified the reduction of incidental capture of 

 sea turtles as a major element in the conservation of sea turtles 

 and called for the introduction of the TED into the shrimp 

 fisheries of the western Atlantic. I should think a confirmation 

 of this conclusion is in order. We can take some encouragement 

 that several countries, including Mexico, Panama, Honduras, 

 Trinidad and Colombia, have indicated an interest in applying TED 

 technology in their shrimp fisheries. 



Incidental Capture of Sea Turtles in Western Atlantic Fisheries 



The national reports prepared for the first WATS together 

 with panel discussion during that meeting provide some 

 information on the incidental capture of sea turtles in fisheries 

 (Bacon et al. 1984). Table 13, Incidental Turtle Catch, provides 

 directly relevant information. Other tables also provide useful 

 information: Table 11, Landing Sites for Turtles and Turtle 

 Products, includes information on methods of directed capture. 

 Table 14, Estimated Turtle Catch by Foreign Fishermen, includes 

 several reports of incidental catch of sea turtles in such 

 foreign fisheries as Japanese longlining for tuna and billfish. 

 However, analysis of information presented in these tables is 

 hampered by ambiguities surrounding the definition of incidental 

 catch, as acknowledged in the instructions that accompanied the 

 national reports for WATS I (Bacon et al. 1984) . 



Some types of gear, such as trawls, are relatively 

 indiscriminate in what they capture, although they may be used in 

 fisheries directed at specific species or groups of species such 

 as shrimps. Non-target species captured in such gear is 

 generally regarded as incidental catch. In many shrimp 

 fisheries, this incidental catch may include dozens of finfish 

 species, sea turtles, crabs, sponges, and undersized shrimp 

 (Tarnas 1986) . 



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