Forwarded by Jane Clark at [log in to unmask]

BUSH  PRESIDES  OVER  SEA  TURTLE  EXTINCTION
Accommodation of Shrimp Industry

Details on the Web Site for Texas Environmental Employees
[http://www.txpeer.org]

(Austin) Despite record death rates for endangered sea turtles along the
Texas coast, Governor George W. Bush has blocked effective protections
while
announcing sham measures which have only public relations value, according
to documents released today by Texas Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (Texas PEER).

The consensus of biological opinion is that shrimp trawlers are responsible
for the vast majority of sea turtle deaths.  In 1999 alone, a record 450
dead or disabled sea turtles washed up on Texas beaches; 95 of them being
endangered Kemp's ridleys, the most threatened sea turtles on the planet.
Gov. Bush has resisted pleas from scientific organizations and conservation
groups to
(1) ban shrimping in shallow waters near turtle nesting areas,
(2)close shrimping on a 17 mile wide zone off the coast of Padre Island and
(3)establish a marine reserve for sea turtles.  Instead, Gov. Bush has
trumpeted a stepped-up enforcement effort to ensure that shrimpers properly
use Turtle Excluder Devices or "TEDs."  Unfortunately, the Governor's
enforcement effort is known to be ineffective because:

* Illegal shrimpers can easily evade detection by monitoring law
enforcement communications;

*Inspections lack what federal studies call the "element of surprise"
needed to catch violators; and

*He relies on the shrimp industry to monitor compliance.  Thus, Texas
Department of Parks & Wildlife (TPWD) has already proclaimed that shrimp
industry compliance with TED requirements is at a record high despite
evidence to the contrary from independent reviewers.

"Governor Bush has been clueless about the needs of wildlife conservation,"
stated Texas PEER Staff Scientist Dean Keddy-Hector, a former zoologist
with
TPWD.  "His policy is to place the fate of these species in the hands of an
industry which has no stake in their survival."
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