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INTRODUCTION 



It is generally agreed (Pritchard, 1980; Mackey, 1980) that overhun- 

 ting, coupled with a dramatic increase in comniercial trade, has decimated 

 sea turtle populations worldwide over the past 2-3 centuries. Now, size 

 alone may render these severely depleted stocks highly vulnerable to a 

 variety of other factors such as water pollution and beach alterations. 



One of these additional pressures is the incidental capture (and 

 drowning) of sea turtles by various fishing industries. The fishery that 

 has received the most attention with respect to incidental catch is the 

 shrimping industry (Hillstead et al., 1977; Anonymous, 1976; etc). As a 

 result, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has developed a 

 "trawler efficiency device" (TED) that can be adapted to existing trawl 

 nets (Watson and Seidel, 1980). This device prevents turtles and other 

 large objects from entering the cod end of the trawl. 



Much less is known about the incidental catch problem in other 

 fisheries. This report is intended to assess the current state of know- 

 ledge and research into the incidental capture of sea turtles by fisheries 

 other than the shrimping industry. 



METHODS 



The material in this report was obtained primarily by interviewing 

 primary researchers and other individuals likely to be acquainted with the 

 problem. Frequently these people suggested others to contact. Some 

 discussions led to return contacts with the original interviewees. Con- 

 tacts were made by letter, telephone, and personal interview. 



RESULTS 



It was universally agreed that there is very little in the way of good 

 documentation of these problems especially in such a form that would allow 

 for the comparison of relative impacts for different fisheries. Still 

 there are several cases where documentation is available. For organiza- 

 tional purposes, these will be dealt with by gear type. 



Gill Nets—Large-mesh gill nets, both stationary and drifting, have 

 been implicated in several situations. 



1) A clearly documented conflict exists with the large-meshed gill 

 nets set for sturgeon. In Winyah Bay, South Carolina, where these nets are 

 fished throughout the winter, turtle mortalities increased rapidly each 

 year in April (Ulrich, 1978; Marchette, 1981; Hopkins, pers. comm.), 

 presumably as the turtles began to move in towards the feeding and nesting 

 areas. In 1980, the S.C. Wildlife and Marine Resources Department issued 

 regulations closing Winyah Bay to nets with a stretched-mesh larger than 5 

 inches in mid-April, specifically to reduce sea turtle and bottlenose 

 dolpiiin mortalities. These mortalities have been significantly reduced. 



