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'' 4 BOOK i F'�i11 721 MARINE CONSERVATION The Board reviewed the following memo dated 8/11/89: t; Center for Marine Conservation olFT^I9UT;o.v LIST Formerly Center for Environmental Education, Est. 1972 AU -4;n: watur 1213 11, 1989 Honorable Gary C. Wheeler i� Per=•��j;,el Board of County Commissioners ^� �.,;� >; Pu' :- Works Administration Building co vU 1389 � Ceill:numty Lxv. � + 1840 25th St.R CF ut iitlos - Vero Beach FL 32960 cr: BagRD �V�D �` �.cOh4,�sSt ON r� f Qer�@ +pjyje55 - Dear Commissioner Wheeler, I am writing to request your �sugZ or important state legislation to protect the sea turtles nesting and foraging in Florida. For more than a decade all species of sea turtles have been protected under the Endangered Species Act and Florida state law. Despite this protection, our sea turtle populations continue to decline. The gravest threat to sea turtles in U.S. waters is the incidental capture and drowning of thousands of animals each year. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimates that 48,000 sea turtles are caught annually in shrimp trawls; of the animals captured, more than 11,000 drown. Fortunately, there is a technological solution to this problem. Special net inserts, known as Turtle Excluder Devices or TEDs, allow entrapped animals to escape without causing a loss in shrimp catch. TEDs also eliminate up to 70 percent of the finfish byeatch (in the Gulf of Mexico shrimpers discard 9-20 pounds of finfish for every pound of shrimp landed). The use of TEDs in federal waters has been reviewed by the executive, legislative and judical branches of government for the last several years, and the regulations were scheduled to go into effect on May 1, 1989. However, recent actions by the Department of Commerce have delayed their mandatory use. On Tuesday August 8 Governor Martinez and the Cabinet adopted emergency regulations requiring TEDs in all state waters at all times of the year. The vote to make the regulations permanent is scheduled for early September. I am writing to you now to request that your County Commission pass a resolution in support of these regulations before that time. Your endorsement is needed and would be very appreciated by concerned citizens and sea turtle conservationists alike. A copy of the draft regulations and a suggested resolution format are enclosed. Please call Dr. Ed Proffitt at our office in St. Petersburg (813-895- 2188, 895-3248) or me if you have any questions or if you would like to discuss this matter further. On behalf of the turtles, Thank you! S cere y,, Maryd le Donnelly, Director Sea Turtle Rescue Fund 172 5 DeSales Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20036 (202)429-5609 Telefax (202)872-0619 , r t.I printed on recvcied paper