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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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091889
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09188900.043
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1990-09-17
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NATION, Page 39American NotesECOLOGYThe Great Turtle Escape
Shrimpers do their harvesting by dragging nets up to 55 ft.
wide along the ocean floor, a technique that catches much more than
tiny, tasty crustaceans. Kemp's ridley sea turtles, weighing up to
100 lbs., are netted and killed so often that the species is
endangered. Two years ago, the Commerce Department asked shrimpers
to rig their nets with trapdoor-like gadgets called turtle-excluder
devices (TEDs), which permit trapped turtles to escape. Gulf Coast
shrimpers balked, and last spring, when the devices were made
mandatory under the Endangered Species Act, the shrimpers protested
by blockading shipping channels along the Texas and Louisiana
coasts. Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher backed off, allowing
shrimpers to limit trawling times instead of using TEDs. Prompted
by infuriated environmentalists, a federal court last week ordered
Mosbacher to begin enforcing the TED requirement. Shrimpers caught
with TED-less nets could face fines of up to $50,000 if their nets
contain a dead sea turtle.