-6- 



turtle movements and closing local areas for short periods may be more 

 fruitful in some situations than redesigning gear. Likewise, as Shoop 

 noted, a widespread, intensive, information program for fishermen is very 

 important, especially in the live entanglement situations. 



The number and type of conflicts vary geographically. North 

 Carolina's waters are biogeographically complex. There are both northern 

 and southern fisheries as well as the tremendous sound systems. The South 

 Carolina and Georgia fisheries are much less diverse, with shrimping being 

 a primary fishery and a primary cause of turtle mortality. Florida, with 

 temperate and subtropical waters, and both the Atlantic and the Gulf of 

 Mexico, might also be expected to have a diversity of fisheries and turtle 

 conflicts. 



What information there is on sea turtle/fishery conflicts (outside the 

 well documented shrimping industry) is widely scattered. Even within a 

 single agency, such as NMFS, repeated contacts with a variety of persons 

 yielded more information. The author's location in North Carolina lent 

 itself to a more thorough investigation of the North Carolina information. 

 This should be done in the other states as well. 



