FISHERMEN’S NEGLIGENCE MAKES A CARETTA CARETTA A VICTIM OF HUMAN ACTION
Once again, one person will pay the price for man’s negligence sea turtle Caretta caretta, a species in danger of extinction. A young specimen was found dead along the coast ofPlemmirio Marine Protected Area, in Sicily. The cause was the ingestion of one sweet tooth. It is a fishing gear consisting of a long line to which nylon threads are attached that end in a hook.
The renowned researcher and environmentalist found the now lifeless sea turtle Sebastian Colnaghiwho immediately the coast guard.
«Another animal victim of pollution and human neglect – explains Colnaghi, recently appointed by the Legambiente association ambassador of the campaign”It contains”, which aims to protect sea turtles -. This young turtle was washed ashore by the storm and external inspection revealed a dangerous longline sticking out of its mouth».
Sea turtle threatened by plastic and fishing hooks
Unfortunately, according to Legambiente data, at least 130,000 sea turtles are at risk of dying every year. Mediterranean. And at least 40,000 people die from accidental catches, ingested waste and trauma caused by nautical traffic.
In fact, these creatures are increasingly threatened by the accidental ingestion of Hook fish and especially from plastic. A studio Research from the University of Queensland has found that up to 52% of sea turtles may have swallowed plastic waste.
«Every minute, more than 33 thousand plastic bottles end up in the sea – underlines Sebastian Colnaghi-. Plastic poses a threat not only to turtles, but to the entire marine ecosystem. It is essential to take action to ensure that future generations can still admire these creatures without having to mourn them».
It is therefore important to take concrete measures to protect the Caretta caretta species, included in the red list of the IUCN endangered species (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), and preserve the delicate balance of our marine habitat.
Reducing fishing mortality: the project “Tarta Life”
One of the projects that has focused on the conservation of this turtle in the Mediterranean in recent years was TartaLife. The initiative lasted five years, until 2018, and was funded by the European Union. It focused on reducing the mortality of this turtle species during professional fishing activities in the fifteen Italian regions bordering the sea.
This goal was pursued by implementing two specific strategies:
- reduce accidental catches by using more selective fishing gear;
- reduce mortality after capture.
Therefore, some efficient and useful tools have been identified for carrying out responsible fishing activities. The first of these is the TED (Turtle Excluder device), that is, a grid sewn into the trawl (before the end bag) whose function is to block the path for turtles, but not for fish. This instrument has already been widely used in several countries, especially for shrimp fishing. It has been mandatory since 1989, especially in the United States.
Thanks to this solution, fishermen continue to catch their target species in the same quantities, but turtles are no longer victims of trawl nets. Furthermore, TED has also proven useful in preventing waste from entering the networks at the bottom of the oceans, such as logs, tires, boulders and plastic materials.
The other solutions proposed for fishermen by “Tarta Life”
“TartaLife‘ also stimulated the use of round hooks in all Italian navies involved in longline fishing. Since experiments dating back to 2001, round hooks have been shown to reduce the accidental catch of Caretta caretta specimens by approximately 70%, without changing the number of swordfish and bluefin tuna caught.
In fact, the specific round shape makes it more difficult for the turtle to swallow the hook, drastically reducing the mortality caused by these tools. Furthermore, because the hook remains only superficially entangled, it can be easily removed by fishermen, who can thus help save accidentally caught turtles by carrying out simple actions on board their boats.
Finally, an electro-acoustic device was mentioned as part of the initiative STAR (Acoustic repellent for sea turtles), the action of which is identical to those developed to keep marine mammals away from fishing gear. Placed on the net and in contact with water, it emits acoustic signals in the frequency range audible to turtles. In this way, these instances can identify and avoid the barrier that the network represents.
They were also tested for the first time in Italy devices that emit ultraviolet light. These ensure that turtles can detect nets from a distance and therefore avoid them.