A shrimp boat, the Captain Tony, was sailing 90 miles southeast of Galveston recently when the Coast Guard boarded. They found that the boat's Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) were sewn shut. (Houston Chronicle, July 30, page B3) The use of TEDs is mandated by federal law in order to prevent catching and drowning of endangered sea turtles.
On Thursday, August 5, 2004, A Coast Guard law enforcement team boarded the vessel called "Wild Orchid" Thursday afternoon about 27 miles southeast of Port Aransas. (KHOU-TV staff report August 6, 2004) The team found the Turtle Excluder Devices sewed shut.
Last September, another shrimp boat, the Christian G. out of Palacios, Texas, was boarded by the Coast Guard, NOAA law enforcement agents and officers from the Galveston County Sheriff's Department. The captain denied his identity while trying to maneuver the boat so that its nets would be caught on debris or rocks and torn off. The opening in the nets to allow sea turtles to escape had been tied shut for 57 days! No Bycatch Reduction Devices to cut down on the waste of many species of fish were in use either. The captain who was wanted on several drug charges was taken to jail. Both he and the boat owner were fined over $250,000 each although the owner's fine was reduced to $100,000. Both the captain and the crew told of catching sea turtles in the nets. He also said that the owner surely knew of his actions because "everyone else does it" referring to tying TEDs shut.
On another page of the July 30 issue of the Houston Chronicle, an article tells of the Bush administration taking action to set tariffs on cheap imported shrimp which Southern shrimpers and processors say is being dumped on the market. (Page D3). The U.S. shrimp industry contends it has been hurt by cheap imports of shrimp and asked the government to help. That help is now coming.
The shrimp industry asked for and received help from the U.S. Department of Commerce in their "anti-dumping" lawsuit. Meanwhile, some shrimp boat captains and crew are breaking the federal law day after day after day. The captains of the Christian G., Wild Orchid and Captain Tony probably knew that NOAA law enforcement staff is stretched thin and that the Coast Guard now has many additional tasks in the war against terrorism. We wonder how many other shrimpers are taking advantage of this situation?
These violations by the shrimping industry in Texas waters points out the need for a substantial marine reserve free from commercial fishing adjacent to the Padre Island National Seashore. If you thought the Kemp's ridleys coming to nest at the National Seashore are safe, think again. We must provide them safe waters at the end of their journeys. Speak up today for a marine reserve at the Padre Island National Seashore out to 20 miles and the length of the Seashore.