Shrimpers battling turtle rules - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports

Shrimpers battling turtle rules

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  • Friday, May 17 2013 11:17 PM EDT2013-05-18 03:17:33 GMT
    An inmate is on the loose in Etowah County.  The Sheriff's department says an inmate kitchen worker escaped the Etowah County Detention Center (ECDC) Friday morning.  Justin Wade Hopkins, 30, escaped from
    The Etowah County Sheriff's Office says an inmate kitchen worker escaped the Etowah County Detention Center Friday morning. 

New federal efforts to save endangered sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico are angering shrimpers who say their livelihood is being threatened. They say the problem is equipment called a turtle excluder device, or TED. The device is designed to allow sea turtles to escape from shrimp nets. But shrimpers say the device also permits their catch to escape.

A spike in dead turtles along the northern Gulf since early 2010 has added urgency to preservation efforts. Scientists say most died due to drowning, most likely from shrimp nets, and not from the BP oil spill.

Rules for use of TEDs in coastal waters are being put together by the National Marine Fisheries Service and could be in effect by March 2013.