TOEFL integrated writing TPO37 Turtle Excluder Device

TOEFL integrated writing TPO37 Turtle Excluder Device.

The reading and the lecture are both about the use of a turtle excluder device (TED). The author of the reading provides three main arguments criticizing the implementation of TED. The lecturer disputes the arguments made in the article. Her position is that TED is an effective way to protect sea turtles against the use of nets by shrimp-fishing boats and the arguments are not obstacles.

According to the reading, the rare case of turtle getting trapped is not worth the cost of escaping some shrimps.  The article mentions that averagely only one turtle is captured occasionally by a shrimp boat in a month, while some shrimps can escape through TED nearly every day. This specific argument is challenged by the lecturer. She claims that one single boat might catch only  one turtle, while the total amount of turtles trapped is enormous considering thousands of shrimp boats cruising in the U.S. Additionally, she points out that  the population of the endangered turtle species is merely several thousand, so that  every single loss counts a lot.

Secondly, the author suggests that some alternative methods of protecting sea turtles are available. In the article, it is said that cutting down the time limit of shrimp boats underwater can also offer some opportunities for the release of caught turtles. The lecturer, however, asserts that this alternation is less likely to enforce than the equipment of TED in every fishing boat. She maintains that whether shortened time limit will be followed by thousands of shrimp boats is hard to monitor, while the installation of TED can be checked with ease.

Finally, the author posits that TEDs are not applicable to some larger species of turtles. The author contends that some enormous sea turtles cannot escape through the relatively narrow escape passage. In contrast, the lecturer’s stance is that TED’s design is flexible and modifiable. Given that some larger species might occur in certain areas, the fishing boats in these areas can be equipped with modified version of TED so as to protect the endangered giants.