On November 27, 2012, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that they would not be issuing new regulations to require increased use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) by shrimpers trawling in state waters. According to NOAA, recent data indicates that TEDs in shallower waters do not adequately protect small turtles and that the rules need to be reassessed.

This news comes as a great relief to the Friends of the Fishermen Foundation and its board members, many who have spent hours educating policymakers in Washington, D.C. on the realities of sea turtle strandings and the unnecessary nature of increased TEDs regulations. Notably, in July 2011, Harlon Pearce testified before the House Natural Resources Committee and took that opportunity to explain, for the record, how increased TEDs requirements were not the answer to preserving sea turtles. Pearce instead urged adoption of increased industry education programs and better enforcement of the current rules. He also stated that the agency’s data on sea turtle populations in general needed far more examination. Of course, once NOAA heeded these calls for increased scrutiny of the risks and benefits of TEDs in state waters, the industry position was held up. In addition, FoF Board members have taken every opportunity while in Washington and in meetings locally with federal officials to educate them on the realities of TEDs.

While NOAA’s announcement comes as a welcome sigh of relief for the shrimping community, the Friends of the Fishermen Foundation will continue their education efforts in the coming months to ensure NOAA is moving in the right direction in their efforts to protect sea turtles.