- Researchers from U.S. and fishers from Mexico’s Gulf of California have developed solar-powered LED buoys that connect to gill nets to assist scale back sea turtle bycatch by 63%.
- The floating gadgets recharge in daylight and might function for over 5 days with out mild, addressing price and waste considerations related to conventional battery-powered lights and single-use chemical mild sticks.
- Researchers say the inexperienced flashing lights might assist sea turtles see the nets in darkish water.
- The know-how emerged from collaborative workshops between scientists and fishing communities, with business manufacturing estimated inside two to a few years by way of partnership with fishing gear producer Fishtek Marine.
Within the waters off Isla el Pardito, the place rocky reefs meet mangrove swamps in Mexico’s Gulf of California, marine biologists and veteran fishers are utilizing the facility of the solar to guard endangered sea turtles.
This area has a number of the highest reported charges of turtles being unintentionally caught in fishing nets, an issue often known as bycatch that poses one of many largest threats to marine turtle populations worldwide. So researchers from the U.S. labored with native fishers to connect solar-powered lights, designed as floating buoys, onto gill nets to alert turtles to the presence of the nets.
They discovered that this diminished sea turtle bycatch by 63% throughout managed experiments, in accordance with a research printed in Conservation Letters. All 67 inexperienced turtles (Chelonia mydas) captured through the research had been launched alive.
The thought for the solar-powered lights got here from three workshops beginning in 2018, the place scientists and fishers labored collectively to search out alternate options to present lights that use disposable batteries or chemical sticks. Conventional LED lights require common battery replacements, and chemical mild sticks solely final 24 hours, resulting in higher prices and waste.
“They took us under consideration and gave us the liberty to provide our opinions and make modifications,” mentioned Juan Pablo Cuevas Amador, a fisher from the neighborhood of El Pardito who participated in growing and testing the gadgets and is listed as a co-author of the research. “For us, it’s vital that or not it’s carried out in collaboration as a result of with what they know and what we all know, we will do fairly fascinating issues.”
Researchers say the inexperienced flashing lights might assist sea turtles see the nets in darkish water. Sea turtles can see inexperienced mild effectively, so the lights might have acted as warning indicators, permitting them to keep away from the nets as they swam by way of coastal waters at evening. In the meantime, fish like yellowtail amberjack, which actively swim into the nets to feed, didn’t appear to be deterred by the lights.
The cylindrical buoys thread onto gill internet float traces like customary fishing gear. Clear polycarbonate casings defend versatile photo voltaic cells, rechargeable lithium polymer batteries, and programmable inexperienced LEDs. Absolutely charged models can illuminate nets repeatedly for 132 hours with out daylight.
For the experiment, researchers deployed 28 paired gill nets. Every set consisted of 1 85-meter (280-foot) management internet and one illuminated internet, linked by 200 m (660 ft) of rope. The nets had been left within the water for 11-12 hours in a single day, at depths starting from 7-12 m (23-39 ft). Researchers checked them hourly, disentangling and releasing any turtles they discovered with out hauling within the nets.
The management nets caught 50 inexperienced turtles; the illuminated nets caught 17. All had been launched alive.
“It’s a win-win,” Jesse Senko, lead writer and assistant analysis professor at Arizona State College’s Faculty of Ocean Futures, mentioned in an announcement. “You get a light-weight that lasts considerably longer with out the necessity for disposable batteries, and also you additionally get a confirmed discount in bycatch, one of many biggest threats to sea turtles worldwide.”
Senko and colleagues are working with Fishtek Marine, which develops applied sciences to make fishing extra sustainable, to supply the lights commercially, doubtlessly over the subsequent two to a few years.
Gill nets are one of the vital extensively used fishing gear in coastal areas worldwide, offering practically half of world seafood from small-scale operations. However when deployed in areas overlapping with sea turtle habitat, the nets can ensnare turtles and different non-target species, driving inhabitants declines.
The coastal waters surrounding Baja California Sur have a number of the highest documented sea turtle bycatch charges globally, in accordance with earlier analysis documenting mortality amongst inexperienced and loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in bottom-set gillnet fisheries.
“Sea turtles play an irreplaceable function in marine ecosystems,” Senko mentioned. “They assist preserve the well being of seagrass beds and coral reefs. Defending them isn’t nearly saving an iconic species. It’s about guaranteeing the long-term resilience of our oceans.”
Banner picture of ASU marine biologist and conservation scientist Jesse Senko fishes a solar-powered illuminated internet off the coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Picture by Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock/Arizona State College)
New report warns 54% of turtles and tortoises are susceptible to extinction
Quotation:
Senko, J. F., Wang, J., Burgher, Okay. M., Jenkins, L. D., Sang, C. L., Bailly, M., … Blain, J. (2025). Harnessing photo voltaic power to cut back sea turtle bycatch. Conservation Letters, 18(5), e13151. doi:10.1111/conl.13151
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