The Meaning of Dredging: Understanding Its Impact on Sea Turtles and Their Habitats

Dredging is a fishing method used to collect marine animals from the seafloor, but it can have devastating consequences for sea turtles and their habitats. Large rocks that accumulate inside the collection bag can damage the shell of captured sea turtles, causing injuries and even death. Moreover, dredging can be harmful to the prey species and habitat turtles depend on for survival.

When towed across the sea floor, dredges can crush turtles or capture them in the collection bag, leading to injury or entanglement. Slower tow speeds sometimes allow animals to avoid capture or entanglement, but this is not always the case. The injury of loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, and green sea turtles is a common and well-documented issue in dredge fisheries.

There are different types of dredges used in fishing, including penetrating dredges that use pressurized water jets to chase animals out from beneath muddy or rocky bottom substrate and into the collection bag. Scraping dredges collect animals in the top layer of seafloor sediment with rakes or teeth that scoop up the substrate.

Dredge construction, tow time, and tow patterns vary depending on the area being dredged, species targeted, and the local density of that species. However, common features of dredge fisheries include a typical dredge consisting of a mouth frame with an attached collection bag.

In conclusion, dredging is a complex issue that requires careful consideration of its impact on sea turtles and their habitats. By understanding the different types of dredges used in fishing and the potential harm they can cause, we can work towards reducing the injury and death of these magnificent creatures.

Dredging meaning