Turtle excluder devices, commonly called TEDs, promote sea turtle conservation by preventing sea turtles from drowning in trawl fishing gear. These devices are most commonly made of metal bars and mesh that fit inside the neck of a trawl net. They help turtles escape when they are accidentally caught in the net. This reduces the impact of fisheries bycatch, allowing turtle populations in the U.S. Southeast to recover and coexist alongside fisheries.
How Do TEDs Work?
A TED is a simple grid made of metal bars that is fit into a trawl net. Small animals, such as shrimp, pass through the grid into the mesh bag at the end of the trawl and are caught. When larger animals like sea turtles enter the trawl net, they are bump against the metal grid, which prevents them from passing through. They can then swim through an opening either at the top or bottom of the net and escape.
Current TED designs are determined to be 97 percent effective in excluding turtles from shrimp trawls. NOAA Fisheries gear experts continue to work with the shrimp fishing industry to develop new and effective designs that further reduce bycatch while minimizing impacts to the target catch.
Today, many shrimp trawlers operating in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of America* and South Atlantic are required by federal law to equip their trawls with a TED.
The Need to Reduce Sea Turtle Bycatch
All sea turtles found in U.S. waters are listed under the Endangered Species Act as either threatened or endangered. By the late 1970s, bycatch of sea turtles in shrimp trawling gear in the southeastern United States was a major threat to the survival of sea turtle populations. Our gear experts, with assistance from the commercial shrimping industry, began researching solutions to this problem. The result of more than a decade of gear development, and subsequent evaluation, was the turtle excluder device.
Today, many otter and skimmer shrimp trawlers operating in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of America and South Atlantic are required by federal law to equip their trawls with a TED.
