Saving Sea Turtles with Solar-Powered Fishing Nets
A new study reveals that LED lights can reduce entanglements by 63 percent.
For fishers working at night, it can be challenging to avoid catching endangered animals, such as sea turtles, in their nets.
- Lighted nets can reduce bycatch of sharks and sea turtles.
- However, traditional lighted nets have limitations, including short-lived batteries, high replacement costs, and disposal issues.
- The lights themselves can be heavy, causing nets to sag, and are often difficult for fishers to work with.
A team from Arizona State University developed solar-powered light buoys to address these issues.
These lights charge with sunlight, function like buoys, and can be easily threaded onto the float line.
They conserve energy by flashing on and off and can remain operational for five days without sunlight.
The LED lights reduced entanglements by 63 percent, according to a new study.
Author's summary: Solar-powered fishing nets reduce sea turtle entanglements.