TED checks

This week we went out with a local fisherman to do some spot checks on trawlers to determine whether or not they were using their Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs). We left early from Hawaii and caught up with the boats trawling just off the coast at depths of 15-20 meters. All boats haul in their nets after 2 to 3 hours, and thats the point that we ride over to spot the TED. We came across some 5 boats, and surprisingly all of them were using their TEDs. We hope to do more trips like this throughout the turtle nesting season to ascertain the sources of mortality for Guatemalas sea turtles.