With an alarming increase in the number of dead turtles being washed ashore on the city’s beaches, the first trials of the indigenously designed Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) will be held at sea on January 21 and 22.
A demonstration of the TED was organised by the Fisheries Department in association with Tree Foundation, an NGO working for turtle conservation, here on Tuesday.
Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) principal scientist Raghu Prakash, who has designed the TED after 15 years of research, explained how only two to five per cent of the caught fish escape while the success rate of turtles escaping and surviving was 100 per cent.
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Members of the trawl boat owners association wondered if the fish loss would be only five per cent. Mr. Prakash said the results were derived after nearly 500 trawl samples with the TED-fitted net.
Indian Coast Guard Commandant S.E.D. Anand Kumar, Forest Range Officer R. David Raj and Tree Foundation founder Supraja Dharini participated.