They began to pressure NMFS, even threaten a 

 lawsuit. 



NMFS had developed a workable TED. Why weren't 

 shrimpers being forced to use it, environmental groups 

 asked. 



And NMFS officials realized the futility of the 

 volunteer TED program. Not enough shrimpers were us- 

 ing TEDs to reduce turtle mortality. 



The time for mandatory use seemed at hand. 



In early 1987, NMFS established proposed TED 

 regulations and solicited public reaction. In late June, 

 final TED rules were written. 



Specifically, the regulations require shrimp trawlers 

 25 feet or longer to use TEDs in offshore waters from 

 North Carolina to Texas. For vessels less than 25 feet 

 long shrimping in offshore waters and for all inshore 

 shrimp boats, the captains must limit their towing time 

 to 90 minutes unless they pull a TED. 



Restricting the tow times will limit the amount of 

 time the net tows along the bottom to 60 to 75 minutes. 

 And studies show that turtle mortalities are negligible 

 at tow times up to 75 minutes. 



Four types of TEDs were approved for use. They are 

 the NMFS version, the more oval Cameron TED and two 

 deflector grids, the Matagorda and Georgia TEDs. Other 

 versions of the TED may receive approval if they are 

 tested and prove to exclude 97 percent of the turtles 

 captured. 



The regulations become effective in Cape Canaveral in 

 October. But North Carolina shrimpers have until May 

 1, 1988, to comply. The TED "season" will extend 

 from May 1 to Aug. 31 in Tar Heel waters. 



The U.S. Coast Guard, NMFS and the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service will be responsible for enforcing the 

 regulations. The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will 

 provide no enforcement unless the rules are adopted by 

 the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission. 



But the struggle to get TEDs on shrimping vessels 

 didn't end with adoption of this federal regulation. 



Fisheries agencies and organizations, and con- 

 gressmen are lining up to take some of the wind out of 

 the TED rules. 



One of the first in line is North Carolina's Division of 

 Marine Fisheries. 



DMF opposes the regulations, especially the limita- 

 tions on inshore shrimping. And the management 

 agency is putting together a petition to sue NMFS, says 

 DMF Director William Hogarth. 



Hogarth maintains that the regulations are based on 

 insufficient evidence. 



He counters with his own data which show that 88 

 percent of the sea turtle strandings in North Carolina 

 are reported on ocean beaches. But only 14 percent of 

 the state's shrimp is harvested from the ocean. 



In contrast, 8 percent of the strandings came from 

 Bogue, Core and Pamlico sounds where 70 percent of 

 the state's shrimp are harvested. 



"We're not fighting the protection of sea turtles," 

 Hogarth says. "We simply believe that shrimp 

 fishermen were singled out without the data to back up 

 the regulation." 



Hogarth also believes that federal officials misled 

 DMF. During talks about proposed TED regulations, 

 NMFS indicated the rules would not include inshore 

 waters or offshore waters north of Ocracoke, he says. 



But the final ruling on the regulations did include 

 these areas. 



And U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones is riled. 



He is planning to introduce legislation in Congress 

 that would amend the Endangered Species Act, says 

 staff member and Sea Grant intern Danny Rasch. 



The bill would place a one- to two-year moratorium 

 on TED use in inshore waters in the Southeast and 

 would require NMFS to conduct further TED tests. 



Jones is likely to have plenty of support from his 

 fellow Southeastern congressmen and senators. Like 

 others, Jones believes that there is no data to substan- 

 tiate the inshore regulations, Rasch says. 



Chuck Oravetz, chief of NMFS's protected species 

 management branch, admits that NMFS's inshore data 

 is limited. But he says that's why NMFS restricted tow- 

 ing times and did not require TEDs. 



"There are turtles there and they are captured by 

 shrimp trawls," he says. 



Oravetz also points out some of the feedback NMFS 

 received from North Carolina during the public com- 

 ment period for the proposed regulations (which did not 

 include inshore waters) requested tougher regulations. 



In particular, he cites a letter from the N.C. Wildlife 

 Resources Commission. The commission manages and 

 protects sea turtles during the terrestrial portion of 

 their lives. 



In an April letter, Charles Fulwood, executive director 

 of the wildlife commission, supported the use of TEDs 

 in offshore waters and recommended that the estuarine 

 waters be included in the regulation. 



"It was interesting," Oravetz says. "We were receiv- 

 ing opposing views from the same state agency.' ' (DMF 

 and the wildlife commission are both part of N.C. 

 Department of Natural Resources and Community 

 Development.) 



But other states were sending mixed messages, too. 



It was a matter of whether an agency or organization 

 represented the fishermen's interests or the turtles' in- 

 terest, Oravetz says. 



Continued on page 9 



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