Volunteers Release Sea Turtles Into Sebastian Inlet

Volunteers helped set 22 loggerhead sea turtles free into the Sebastian Inlet, after completing a scientific study to improve living conditions for the species. The goal was to find turtle-friendly shrimp nets and to determine how toxins affect turtles,in an effort to continue humane practices in the sea. Read more about this in the following article…

NOAA requires fishermen to put a $250 to $500 “Turtle Excluder Device” on their nets. The device is a grid of bars with an opening at the top or bottom of the net. The grid is fitted into the neck of a shrimp trawl. Small animals such as shrimp pass through the bars and are caught in the bag end of the trawl. When sea turtles and other larger animals enter the trawl they hit the grid bars and get ejected through the opening.