“Right now, shrimpers cannot work at all. They’ve been dropping test nets, which have been coming up completely full of debris.” Photo: Louisiana Seafood News
by Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
After holding meetings last summer to discuss requiring turtle excluder devices in all shrimp boats that fish with skimmer trawls — equipment used primarily in shallow water, such as Louisiana’s coastal waters, bays and estuaries -– the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service on Tuesday announced it has withdrawn the proposed rule change. NOAA Fisheries Service observers collected data that showed the devices might not prevent small sea turtles from being caught in nets as previous data suggested.
“We’re not abandoning this issue, there’s just more work that needs to be done to get it right,” said Roy Crabtree, southeast regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “This is the first time we’ve required observers on skimmer trawls and the information we now have suggests the conservation benefit does not justify the burden this rule would place on the industry. We need more research looking at different options.”
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