Louisiana makes progress to protect its Sea Turtles.
In the conclusion of a story we’ve been covering during each step, Louisiana’s government has passed legislation which repeals another law from 1987. Back in ’87, the state passed a law that prohibited Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents from enforcing federal turtle-excluder device (TED) regulations. Louisiana was the only state where agents were prohibited from enforcing compliance with the federal regulations. Finally, the state has reversed that law with lack of foresight on the needs of endangered species. This repeal will become effective on August 1, 2015. Thanks to the efforts of many, Sea Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico have won an important victory!
Turtle News From Around the World
Conservation
New England Aquarium opens a new exhibit where visitors will get a hands-on experience with the process of diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating Sea Turtles.
Marines in SoCal’s Mojave Desert learn to co-exist with endangered species and conserve them at all costs.
Turtles still in decline west of Lake Ontario despite rescue efforts.
Miscellany
A must see, video of a sea turtle swimming through the Great Barrier Reef.
Crime & Punishment
Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources is investigating a local meat market for allegedly selling turtle meat.
$3000 reward offered for a man and woman who killed wildlife on Anna Maria Island.
Another tortoise was snatched from a southeastern Massachusetts property.
Did You Know…
TEDs are extremely simple machines- whenever anything large enough gets to a certain part of the trawl net, a trapdoor opens, freeing the large animal (Figure 1). Shrimp are not large enough to open the trapdoor, so they remain in the net. TEDs are as effective as they are simple. They reduce sea turtle mortaility by 97%. TEDs were first required year-round in the United States in 1992, more than 3 years after partial usage was required.
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Photo from nola.com
