New Device to Protect Sea Turtles?

When I read stories like this one, two thoughts cross my mind. The first is, “Awesome! This is exactly what we need.” The second? “It’s about bloody time. Why haven’t we done this already?” Though sea turtle protection is long overdue—especially considering that all species of sea turtles are endangered—we can definitely welcome any protection now with open arms. Better late than never, right?

Since many sea turtles meet their untimely deaths in fisherman’s nets, a new device is being developed to target these nets in order to protect turtles. Fishery managers are using a Cape Cod company to develop a device that will allow them to continue using fishing nets while still protecting sea turtles.

Hopefully it’s not too good to be true.

This new device is a 7-inch, silver cylinder that is supposed to attach to fishing nets and record how long they remain under water.  It begins tracking water depth at 30-second intervals after the net is dropped below two meters of water.

While this doesn’t sound like it’s going to protect turtles much (it doesn’t deter them from the nets themselves, and it certainly doesn’t make the nets smaller or turtle-proof), according to federal research, most sea turtles can survive netting if it is checked and pulled out of the water within 50 minutes of entanglement. Snared turtles, experts say, can then be freed or treated with a much higher survival rate.

I really don’t think this goes far enough to protect turtles, but any measures can’t hurt. That said, the fishermen interested in this development are generally not after helping turtles; they hope to avoid stricter regulations and restrictions. Being faced with having their fishing locations shut down, they are desperate for something to reach a compromise.

That said, this new tool will not be 100% effective. For one thing, not all turtles can be saved once they are ensnared in a net. Secondly, fisheries would have to rely on the honor system to have the nets regularly checked and turtles pulled to safety—something that is definitely not foolproof. Still, early tests have gone well, and as the Onset Computer Corporation, the developer of the tool, continues to strengthen the tool’s workability, it may be a workable solution, if only for the time being.

Meanwhile, research and efforts to further protect turtles—and perhaps avoid such snares altogether—continue. Perhaps we’ll have something dependable and highly effective soon—and hopefully, soon enough for the sea turtles.