turtle excluder device

TEDs significantly reduce turtle bycatch

Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) are a specific type of bycatch reduction device (BRD) that are a modification to a trawl net to keep turtles, which are not targets of the fishery, from being caught in the net.  TEDs are generally composed of a set of bars over the trawl net.  While small target animals, such as shrimp, pass easily between the bars into the trawl net, larger animals, such as turtles or even sharks, can escape through a side opening in the net after they have hit the grid of bars.  TEDs were developed to eliminate turtle mortality from trawl fisheries.  Because turtles and other bycatch, or non-target catch, species often come from threatened or endangered populations, the fisheries had strict regulations on how much bycatch was allowed.   TEDs, by reducing bycatch, allows the shrimp trawls to operate more with more ecological and economic efficiency.

For more information, please visit: http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/teds.htm