Develop sustainable fishing practices to reduce bycatch in fishing gear by proposing technical and regulatory improvements.
Developing sustainable fishing practices is a major challenge for marine turtle conservation, as bycatch represents one of the main threats. Our ability to reconcile biodiversity protection with the sustainability of a key pillar of the maritime economy is now a sine qua non for successful conservation strategies. The working group focused on interactions between fisheries and marine turtles will work to leverage national and international legislative measures to reduce the impact of fishing, while safeguarding the interests of professionals involved. It will also raise awareness among institutions that fund marine-friendly fishing activities about the need to support projects that protect turtles across their entire range, which spans all the geographic areas they use throughout their life cycle, beyond national borders.
Objective 1: Adapt project funding methods for bycatch reduction to the scale of species’ distribution ranges
- Draw the attention of French and European authorities to the need to design projects applicable across the international range of marine turtles
Objective 2: Reduce marine turtle bycatch in tropical wild shrimp fisheries
- Support strengthened enforcement of Turtle Excluder Device (TED) use in European fisheries in the Indian Ocean and Western Atlantic
- Assess turtle CPUE (catch per unit effort) for each country exporting wild shrimp to the EU
- Advocate for EU regulations requiring TED use in non-EU shrimp fisheries exporting to the EU
- Assist non-EU shrimp fisheries exporting to the EU in preparing for TED regulations
- Participate in supplying TED kits to willing and trained non-EU fisheries
Objective 3: Develop onboard observer programs in fisheries with confirmed marine turtle bycatch
- Promote the implementation of onboard observer programs in the French overseas territories (DOM-TOM)
Objective 4: Evaluate alternative fishing methods in areas with confirmed marine turtle bycatch
- Identify and implement alternative fishing methods in affected DOM-TOM territories
- Support the deployment of LED tests on fishing gear across national territory, including overseas
Objective 5: Provide Fisheries Committees with human resources to engage fishers in adopting “gentle” fishing practices
- Assess the financial and technical needs of CRPMEM to reduce turtle bycatch
Objective 6: Reduce bycatch caused by illegal fishing
- Contribute to strengthening efforts to combat illegal fishing
