Fisheries Conservation Engineering Videos

Since 1988, the Southeast Fisheries Science Center Mississippi Laboratories has conducted Turtle Excluder Device (TED) certification testing to evaluate candidate TEDs for sea turtle exclusion efficiency following a standardized small turtle testing protocol. The protocol consists of towing a 50 ft, western jib trawl directly astern of a vessel at a towing speed of 2.5 kts. A messenger wire is incorporated into the trawl and attached to the towing vessel. Turtles are transported from the vessel to the trawl inside a herculite bag via the messenger wire. Three SCUBA divers are utilized to conduct the test. Diver one releases each turtle into the trawl, diver two records elapsed time and captures escaping turtles or removes captured turtles from the trawl. Diver three records the entire sequence with a video camera. The performance of the control TED for a given year is utilized to determine the sea turtle exclusion efficiency of candidate TEDs and determine if designs pass or fail. All TEDs that pass the certification protocol are considered allowable gear for use in commercial shrimp trawl fisheries both domestically and internationally.

To evaluate candidate Turtle Excluder Devices for sea turtle exclusion efficiency following a standardized small turtle testing protocol.

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Videos are reviewed by scientific staff during and upon completion of projects.