Daily Express
16 October 2015
Sandakan, Malaysia: Trawler fishermen in the State have welcomed the use of the Turtle Excluder Device (TED). Sabah Fisheries Deputy Director Dr Ahemad Sade said the TED, made of aluminium or galvanised iron, placed on the front of trawlers’ seine nets can assist turtles or marine mammals to save themselves by swimming out of the nets.
He said a study conducted by FRI (Fisheries Research Institute) researchers at Rantau Abang also showed that the use of TED did not affect catches of shrimp and fish. “The use of TED will also make the catch cleaner. By using TED there will be less waste and sewage entering the seine nets and large objects will also be excluded from the nets,” he said. “The use of TED also reduces the catch of trash fish as the findings in Kemamam, Terengganu also showed trash fish catches can be reduced by 12 to 15 per cent,” he added. Ahemad said the use of TED also managed to reduce the use of diesel fuel by trawlers by 10 per cent per trawl.
He added that the use of TED would also reduce damage to the trawler nets because trash and large objects do not enter the net and it can help save on the cost of repairing fishing nets. TED also does not affect the income of fishermen but helps to conserve resources because it can reduce trash fish catches and operating costs by saving on diesel consumption.