Policy Recommendations for the Reduction of Sea Turtle Bycatch in North Carolina’s Inshore Gill Net Fisheries
Abstract
North Carolina’s 2.5 million acres of coastal waters provide habitat for five species
of sea turtles. The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF) is charged
with managing state fisheries and is responsible for ensuring that sea turtle bycatch
is both limited and in compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 2005,
NCDMF applied for and obtained an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) under section 10 of
the ESA. The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, represented
by the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, filed suit against NCDMF and the
North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission on February 23, 2010 for violations of
that ITP and of section 9 of the ESA. In light of that lawsuit, this project examines
potential methods for reducing sea turtle bycatch in North Carolina’s gill net fisheries.
The goal of this master’s project was to find potential areas of agreement between
recreational and commercial interests pertaining to sea turtle bycatch in the Pamlico
Sound area. This goal included the explicit aim to create management recommendations
for reductions in sea turtle / gill net bycatch based upon input from fishers. Commercial
and recreational fishers were interviewed using an informal, semi-structured interview
process. Participants were chosen using a referral system.
The results of the interviews were analyzed using the NVivo software program. Commonalities
between and within groups were coded and used to create management recommendations.
The data suggest that newly imposed regulations will need to be strictly monitored
in order to help ensure an effective outcome, given a long history of distrust between
commercial and recreational fishers. Specific policy recommendations include gear
modifications, increased gill net attendance requirements, increased fisher education
on sea turtle entanglement in gill nets, increased penalties for lack of self reporting
sea turtle interactions, and increased spatial and temporal restrictions on gill net
usage.
Type
Master's projectPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/2196Citation
Wallis, Jenna (2010). Policy Recommendations for the Reduction of Sea Turtle Bycatch in North Carolina’s
Inshore Gill Net Fisheries. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/2196.Collections
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