Scientists say the sea turtles have been swimming our planet’s oceans for over 100 million years now. It is very painful to see a serious reduction in the population of turtles worldwide due to fishing nets. In order to protect these rare sea turtles, fishery managers have approached a Cape Cod company to build a device that makes both profitable fishing and protection of turtles simultaneously. The company has successfully developed a device, better known as the “tow-time logger.” This 7-inch silver cylinder, which is attached to the fishing nets, records the time for which the fishing net stays in the water. The device has been proven to be useful to the fishermen as well, who are restricted from fishing and leaving them struggling for their living.
The deadly impact of fishing net
Fishing nets used by fishermen are proving to be lethal to other non-target species. Due to fishing practices, turtle populations around the world are threatened with extinction. Every year when the sea turtles migrate across the open ocean between their feeding and nesting grounds, many get entangled in fishing nets and drown. Not only that, the fishing nets are contributing to water pollution and water prone diseases as well. This new and dangerous form of pollution is killing millions of birds, fishes, whales, seals and sea turtles.
S.O.S. – Major efforts taken worldwide to save turtles
To lessen the threats to the lives of water creatures, fishery managers have come up with a new and innovative idea of attaching a device called the “tow-time logger” that keeps track of how long the fishing nets are under water and after a specific time are taken out to prevent turtles from being trapped in them.
Save the Turtles, Inc. – a non-profit organization – is protecting endangered sea turtles by supporting community-based conservation projects and developing international education programs.
CEPEP Contractor Barry Phillip has joined hands with the NGOs and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to help with protection of nesting turtles at Manzanilla Beach.