Evaluating the Benefits of Voluntary Turtle Excluder Device Adoption

Tropical shrimp trawl fishing is globally recognized as a major source of marine turtle bycatch, which are often injured or killed due to forced submersion. In French Guiana, where five marine turtle species occur and three nest regularly, the shrimp trawler fleet voluntarily adopted Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in 2010.

The project evaluates the conservation impact of this transition using data from three onboard observer programs (WWF, IFREMER and CRPMEM-G). It quantifies bycatch per unit effort (BPUE), and turtle bycatch across the fishery was extrapolated from 1985 to 2024. The results provide preliminary evidence that TED adoption avoided 4,365 turtle captures (95% CI: 3,035-5,695) over 14 years, with L. olivacea accounting for 81.7% (71.4% females), followed by D. coriacea (7.0%) and C. mydas (6.1%). Bycatch was highest in August and December and occurred mainly at depths of around 110 m (L. olivacea, D. coriacea) and 85 m (C. mydas). Despite limitations related to the age of the data and assumptions about actual compliance, the analysis shows a continued decline in accidental turtle capture.

The French Guianese fleet therefore provides a concrete example of TED adoption in European Union waters. This case is all the more important as calls are increasing for the EU to make TED use mandatory for imported shrimp and, more broadly, to regulate seafood imports.