The Sabah Fisheries Department (SFD) or Jabatan Perikanan Sabah plans to make it mandatory for all fishing vessels in the state to install turtle excluder devices (Ted) on trawl nets.

sabah tourism poster turtles The mandatory ruling would follow if less than a satisfactory number of fishing operators volunteer to install the devices on their own accord.

This is the stark warning from SFD director Rayner Stuel Galid after assessing preliminary results from an ongoing pilot study on usage of Ted in Sabah waters.

The assessment was done jointly with Marine Research Foundation (MRF) executive director Nicolas J Pilcher.

The MRF is an international NGO based in Kota Kinabalu.

The pilot study involves four fishing companies, two each in Kudat and Tawau. The two ports have an estimated 1,500 fighting boats between them. This is the second such study, the first being conducted in Sandakan from 2007 until the end of 2008.

"At the moment, we prefer to make usage of Teds voluntary but the long term goal is legislation to enforce in the licensing conditions," said Galid. "The major hindrance is not the cost which is only RM500 per device but the perception among fishermen."

The fishermen assumed, according to Galid, that the trapdoor located at the side of the nets would allow the fish to escape as well besides the turtles.

Many fishermen were apparently concerned that their catch would escape through the self-closing netting flaps and hence were wary of using the Teds. The preliminary trails did find that Teds resulted in smaller catches but by only two to three percent.

But apparently this was sufficient to deter usage.

As an incentive for fishermen using the Teds, the SFD is partnering the MRF in getting local hotels to purchase shrimp from Ted-equipped boats at premium price to cover any losses that Teds usage may induce.

Increasing fishing efficiency

On the plus side, Teds have the advantage of reducing fuel costs, increasing product value, reducing net down-time and increasing fishing efficiency.

Teds are grid devices that fit in the narrow neck of trawl nets to eliminate unwanted by-catch. With Teds, turtles and debris going into the net are able to exit through the trapdoor. Debris often includes logs and old tyres, among others.

"Most fishermen who have not fitted Teds in their trawl nets would return the turtles back to the sea," conceded Galid. "But if the turtles were trapped in the net early on, and the net was towed for up to four hours, the turtles will drown."

cute To help the fishermen come around voluntarily to the idea of using Teds, the SFD has produced an educational video in partnership with the MRF.

The production of the video had additional input from a site visit sponsored by Conservation International-Philippines to the US National Marine Fisheries Service in Pascagoula in the Mississippi.

The video shows how the Teds work underwater and how historical stumbling blocks were overcome in a Ted-compliant fishery.

Amend legislation

Pilcher agrees with Galid that many fishermen are wary of using the Teds. The MRF, he disclosed, was working with the federal government to convince them of the need to amend the appropriate legislation and make Ted usage mandatory.

"In Malaysia, there was only one Act for fisheries at the Federal level," said Pilcher. "So, amendment to the act has to happen at the highest level."

The MRF, stressed Pilcher, was concerned about reducing the loss of marine biodiversity, especially the green turtle - Chelonia mydas - listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

The usage of the Teds in Sabah is being promoted after a MRF study revealed that hundreds of turtles are lost to fishing in Sabah every year with shrimp trawling identified as among the leading causes of sea turtle declines.

Turtles, at the same time, are integral components of marine eco-systems and provide valuable eco-tourism related services to the tune of millions of ringgit while supporting cultural and traditional values.

The study found that while the ongoing protection of critical nesting beaches is an important measure, such efforts by Sabah Parks will be doomed unless adequate and complementary protection is afforded during the at-sea periods which account for over 99.9 per cent of a turtle's lifetime.

"The reduction of by-catch like marine turtles is a critical step to ensuring their survival in Sabah waters and beyond," notes the MRF study.

Teds are already compulsory in Central and South America, Africa, Thailand and Pakistan.