SavingSeaFood - Study: Sea turtle deaths by bycatch have fallen by 90%

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Study: Sea turtle deaths by bycatch have fallen by 90%

A new study has found that the number of sea turtle deaths by bycatch in US coastal waters -- currently 4,600 -- has dropped by an estimated 90 per cent since 1990.

The report by researchers at Duke University Project GloBAL and Conservation International was published in the scientific journal Biological Conservation.

Total sea turtle takes used to surpass 300,000 annually, of which 70,000 were killed. All six marine turtle species in US waters -- including loggerheads, leatherbacks and green sea turtles -- are categorized as threatened or endangered.

Scientists used data collected from 1990-2007 by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to find out bycatch rates across more than 20 fisheries operating in US coastal waters.

They found that overall rates have fallen about 60 per cent. Shrimp trawls made up 98 per cent of them.

Read the complete story from Fish Information and Services

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