KARACHI: “Fishermen lose most of their catch and their fishing nets are damaged when they install the turtle excluder device (TED). It’s a useless gadget,” says Hasan Ujia, a local fisherman and resident of Bhit Island, a small fishing town located in the Manora channel.

Fishermen such as Ujia have always been sceptical about using the TED, whose installation in a shrimp trawling net is mandatory under US import laws, rules and regulations of the federal and provincial governments and the World Trade Organisation.

“I think the device needs some modification. It scares away the fish while its metal bars can hurt the turtle. In fact, there is no need for the device as our communities consider the marine reptile sacred and release it back into the sea if it gets entangled in their net,” Saleh, another seasoned fisherman, says, adding that reservations kept him away from the discussions recently organised in his neighbourhood to create awareness of using the TED.

He also questioned as to why only Pakistani fishermen were asked to install the device.

“We have never seen the TED in the fishing nets that are seized along with Indian boats when fishermen from the other side of the border cross into Pakistani waters and are held,” he said.

A fishermen representative, Asif Bhatti of Native Islander Fishermen Association was of the opinion that concerns related to the TED reflected lack of official commitment. “Non-governmental organisations and government officials get active on the subject when they get a foreign-funded project. As soon it is over, they lose interest. I think the government and other stakeholders need to show full commitment to ensure that the device is used by all,” he says while expressing doubts over the recently launched TED awareness drive.

The campaign is part of a project being implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in collaboration with other stakeholders, including the marine fisheries department.

Titled ‘Saving the endangered sea turtle on the coastal areas of Pakistan’, the project is funded by the USAID Small Grants and Ambassador’s Fund Programme, which is sponsored jointly by Pakistan and the US governments.

Apart from other activities, the one-year project focuses on promoting the TED, a specialised device with a grid of bars that prevents bycatch of large untargeted animals such as sea turtles.

About 100 such devices would be installed in fishing nets under the project.

“Turtles are usually caught in cases where commercial vessels use bottom trawling to target shrimps. When a turtle gets caught or entangled in a trawl net, it becomes trapped and is unable to return to the sea surface to breathe air. They eventually drown and die,” explains Dr Babar Hussain representing the IUCN.

The organisation, he said, had held public awareness sessions in a few fishing villages and the process would continue till the project’s conclusion.

“We are addressing fishermen’s concerns over the TED that, in fact, would not only reduce their bycatch, but would also improve the quality of their catch,” he said.

Endorsing his views, Mohammad Moazzam Khan, former director general of the marine fisheries department now working as a technical adviser on marine resources with the World Wide Fund for Nature, said that fishermen lacked the right information about the TED that only caused a loss of five per cent catch.

“Their belief that the device harms the turtle is also untrue. Its installation is a legal requirement and it is being used all over the world,” he said.

The device, according to Mr Khan, was first installed in shrimp fishing nets in Pakistan in 1999 to meet US import requirements. Since then, he said, a US mission regularly visited Pakistan to certify that the TED was being used by local fishermen.

Giving his opinion, present director general of the marine fisheries department Shaukat Hussain said that overfishing had led to a sharp decline in shrimp catch over the years and, consequently, its exports to the US had also dropped.

“The export today will be around 20,000 to 25,000 tonnes. Decline in shrimp catch has forced fishermen earlier targeting shrimp to catch finfish. Fishermen of Balochistan do not use trawl net voluntarily, considering the practice harmful to marine ecosystem,” he said.

Highlighting concerns over turtle mortality and importance of the TED, Syed Ghulam Qadir Shah representing the IUCN said that being a signatory to a number of global conventions on marine resources conservation, including the memorandum of understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia, it was necessary that Pakistan comply with these international obligations.

“Entanglement in fishing nets is one significant factor that has led to a decline in turtle population worldwide. An important part of the project relates to collecting scientific data on turtle mortality due to fishing nets along Pakistan’s coast. Fishermen will be shown practically how the TED could take care of their interests and, at the same time, save turtles,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2014