Right now we are in the midst of an alarming rate of mortality for sea water turtle in the Gulf Of Mexico. The death rates are up over 300% so far this year. Part of this is probably due to the ecological disaster that was the Deep Water Horizon crude oil spillage that resulted in millions of barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf and it wildlife and pristine beaches. Even taking into effect the extra deaths due to the oil spill we still have something else contributing to their deaths. Signs point to the shrimping industry as the likely culprit. Now I love to eat shrimp as much as the next person but we really need to make a change in the nets that catch the shrimp as they are also catching and drowning our marine turtles. There is supposed to be a simple remedy for this and it is a devise known as a Turtle Excluder Devise or TED. Adding these devises to the shrimp nets would surely help prevent a large portion of the turtle deaths. You can visit Defenders Of Wildlife Sea Turtle Petition
and sign the petition to urge congress to act to enforce the ESA or Endangered Species Act and make it a requirement to place TED’s in their nets. This would be similar to the way they exclude dolphin from tuna nets now. When it was learned how many dolphins were being killed by tuna fisherman people boycotted brands that did not use the safer dolphin strategies. Maybe we need the same warnings on any shrimp we consume. I feel that all creatures are important and should be protected for our children’s future. I urge you to please visit and sign the Defenders Of Wildlife Sea Turtle
Petition