The United States administration is considering lifting the four-year ban on Indian wild-caught shrimp following the development of a Turtle Excluder Device (TED) by the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) in Kochi. A team of experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will visit Kochi on February 19 to evaluate and potentially grant final approval for the TED. The ban was imposed due to concerns over unregulated fishing activities posing a threat to endangered turtle species. If approved, coastal states must encourage trawl boat owners to implement the new device, and the US may lift the ban upon compliance.
To ensure international market access and better revenue for Indian shrimp, fishermen will benefit from the potential lifting of the ban. However, state governments need to incentivize trawl boat operators to adopt the TED innovation. Sea turtles, classified as critically endangered or threatened on the World Conservation Union Red List, face risks from unregulated fishing practices, such as getting caught in trawl gears. A US law introduced in 1996 restricts shrimp imports harvested without TED-equipped fishing equipment.
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