Fisheries Dependent Turtle Excluder Device Testing with Reduced Bar Spacing

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center Mississippi Laboratories conducted a study to determine if Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) with reduced bar spacing were effective at reducing unwanted bycatch while still retaining the target catch of penaeid shrimp. This study was conducted in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico primarily in the inshore waters of Louisiana and Mississippi. This study was conducted by comparative towing tests aboard an inshore commercial shrimp trawler. Two RBS (Reduced Bar Spacing) experimental TEDs were evaluated, and catch rates of shrimp and bycatch were compared to a similar TED with 4-inch bar spacing. Catch data were collected from experimental and control TEDs and were separated into shrimp total catch, and selected species of bycatch, which included sharks and rays. The data set includes catch data including length frequency data from an experimental TED and a control TED. Data were collected from August 2011 through October 2012. Data were used to determine the feasibility of using RBS TEDs in the commercial penaeid shrimp fishery.

To evaluate the feasibility of a reduced bar spacing Turtle Excluder Device to reduce bycatch of penaeid shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico commercial shrimp trawl fishery.

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Datasheets were checked in the field after sampling and data were checked after entry into the database. The principal investigators review the data for content to ensure the relevance/accuracy of data collected.

Data resides on Networked Attached Storage (NAS) environment. Security patches/updates are immediately applied to the host environment. Data is stripped/mirrored using RAID 50 technology to protect data from disk failure. Nightly backups are preformed and files are written to magnetic tape and stored in an onsite / offsite location.

Trawl catch is sorted to shrimp, finfish, non-shrimp crustaceans, other invertebrates, and debris. Shrimp and selected finfish are identified to species. Catch and length frequency data are recorded onto datasheets. Datasheets were checked in the field after sampling and data were checked after data entry. The principal investigators review the data for content to ensure the relevance/accuracy of data collected.