2022 and 2023 Independent Proof of Concept Testing for the Deepwater Horizon Restoration Project: Reducing Juvenile Sea Turtle Bycatch through Development of Reduced Bar Spacing Turtle Excluder Devices

Authors
Gearhart, J.
Year
Journal/Publisher Name
Whitepaper. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Fisheries, Assessment, Technology, and Engineering Support Division. Pascagoula, MS.
Summary

Turtle excluder device (TEDs) with reduced bar spacing may help to reduce bycatch of small sea turtles that can pass through the deflector bars of standard TEDs. A bent bar top opening TED installed at 55°, a bent bar, bottom opening TED installed at 45°, and straight bar, top opening TED installed at 55° were evaluated. None of the TEDs significantly reduced total catch or bycatch. However, the bent bar, bottom opening TED and straight bar, top opening TED both significantly reduced invertebrate (largely jellyfish) catch. 

Link
https://gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/media/document/2023-small-bar-ted-commerc…

Field Studies

2022 and 2023 Independent Proof of Concept Testing for the Deepwater Horizon Restoration Project: Reducing Juvenile Sea Turtle Bycatch through Development of Reduced Bar Spacing Turtle Excluder Devices

Study Type
Field study in the wild
Location
Northern Gulf of Mexico (Mississippi, Louisiana)
Target catch
brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus), white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus)
Effect on bycatch species
Bent bar, bottoming opening TED and straight bar, top opening TED reduced invertebrate bycatch by 56.2% and 28.4% respectively. No impact on sea turtle bycatch.
Effect on target catch
Bent bar, top opening TED reduced shrimp catch by 3.3%, although a low number of shrimp were encountered during the study
Bycatch species
Sea Turtles
Reduction technique
Excluder devices
Fishing Gear
Trawls