RedUCTION OF LOggeRheAd TURTLe (caretta caretta)

riduzione del bycatch di tartarughe marine (CAReTTA CAReTTA) nella pesca a strascico mediterranea Abstract- We investigated the effect of ted design on loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) bycatch of bottom trawl fisheries, frequently captured in the adriatic fisheries. For each ted types, bycatch and debris reduction as well as commercial species losses were evaluated. the last two ted designs demon-strated to reduce debris and therefore fish quality. this also would imply reduction of additional sorting operations on board, increasing time and costs. We believe that teds can be properly proposed as mana-gement tool for the conservation of marine turtle population in the italian seas. Key-words: turtle excluder device, mediterranean trawl fisheries, Caretta caretta, sea turtle, bycatch. Introduction – Fishing-induced mortality is considered a major threat to sea turtle populations worldwide (Tudela, 2000). The Barcelona Convention adopted an Action Plan for the Conservation of Mediterranean Marine Turtles in 1989, acknowledging that trawl catches are the most serious threat to the sea turtles. It is estimated that more than 60000 turtles are incidentally caught annually as a result of the fishin