NOAA FISHERIES APPROVES THE USE OF A LARGE HOOPED HARD TURTLE EXCLUDER DEVICE (TED), KNOWN AS THE COULON TED

On February 21, 2003, NOAA Fisheries issued a final rule (68 FR 8456) amending turtle excluder device regulations to better protect large loggerhead, green, and leatherback sea turtles. One of the provisions of this final rule will disallow the use of a hooped hard TED in the Gulf and Atlantic offshore waters. Since publication of this final rule, NOAA Fisheries has heard from fishermen, especially in Louisiana, who prefer to use a version of hooped hard TED known as the Coulon TED because they believe it is effective at increasing shrimp retention and releasing turtles and other bycatch.

NOAA Fisheries has worked with the inventor of this TED and the fishermen who use it to develop a Coulon style TED with a larger opening. NOAA Fisheries has tested this new hooped hard TED design and has found it capable of releasing large loggerhead and green turtles as well as leatherback turtles during shrimp trawling. Therefore, NOAA Fisheries has approved the large Coulon TED for use in offshore and inshore
waters, effective immediately.

The entire Federal Register notice that announced the proposal to allow the use of the Coulon TED, which includes graphics depicting its approved dimensions and configuration can be found at the following web site:

http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/fishery/pannounc.gen/protann.003/68fr44722.pdf

This and other news releases are available on the SERO homepage at http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov.

NOAA Fisheries is an agency of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.