Mid-Atlantic Trawl Fisheries Catching Illegal Levels of Loggerhead Sea Turtles

Alexandria, VA, August 4, 2009 – Oceana is calling for fast action to protect loggerhead sea turtles from destructive fishing gear today as the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) meets in Alexandria, Va. Two trawl fisheries managed by the MAFMC are catching illegal levels of loggerhead sea turtles, a species listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA).

In the Mid-Atlantic alone, an estimated 770 loggerhead sea turtles are caught in trawl fisheries each year, many of these caught in the two MAFMC fisheries. Florida beaches, where most loggerhead nesting in the U.S. takes place, have seen nesting declines of more than 40 percent in the last decade.

“Every dead sea turtle counts,” said Elizabeth Griffin, marine scientist and fisheries campaign manager at Oceana. “The destructive practices of these fisheries are not only illegal, but are pushing loggerhead sea turtles towards extinction.”

The fisheries, summer flounder, scup and black sea bass and Atlantic mackerel, squid and Atlantic butterfish, are catching 10 times more sea turtles than what is authorized under their ESA permits. Without an avenue for escape, sea turtles likely drown when captured in trawl fishing gear due to forced submergence. If they do escape, they are often injured from the great stress of being netted and are left more susceptible to further injuries and death.

“The government knows these Mid-Atlantic fisheries are catching and killing illegally high levels of threatened sea turtles,” said Griffin. “It’s time for the Council to take a stand to reduce the impact of Mid-Atlantic trawl fisheries on loggerheads.

Turtle excluder devices (TED), escape hatches that allow sea turtles to escape from fishing nets, are not required in many trawl fisheries known to catch and even kill sea turtles. Trawl nets equipped with properly sized and functioning TEDs can lead to a 97 percent reduction in sea turtle entrapment.

To date, the only federal fisheries required to use TEDs in trawls are summer flounder and shrimp. Unfortunately, in the summer flounder fishery, TEDs are not required at all times when and in all areas where the fishery catches sea turtles. When TEDs are used in this fishery, their required size is often too small for larger turtles to escape through.