Six different species of sea turtles swim in and out of U.S. waters. Each of them is listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act, mostly due to human activities. And one of those human-caused primary threats is bycatch.
Bycatch is when fishermen, commercial or recreational, catch something that they’re not trying to catch. In this case, sea turtles. And in the case of protected sea turtles, bycatch can be deadly and a serious problem for the population. There are four big categories of commercial fishing gear that cause the problems: trawls, long lines, gillnets, and traps or pots.
This week on Dive in With NOAA Fisheries, we're talking with Barbara Schroeder, the National Sea Turtle Coordinator in our Office of Protected Resources. Hear about sea turtles, bycatch, and the innovations and solutions getting implemented or developed thanks to some hard-working scientists at NOAA Fisheries, in coordination with industry.