TPO37 Integrated Writing

This set of material focuses on the debate whether turtle excluder device (TED) is good to solve the problem that turtles get caught in the nets of shrimp-fishing boats. The points that the writer discusses are challenged by the speaker.

To start with, the writer claims that it is rare for turtles to get trapped and the cost of using TEDs is too high. However, the lecturer that opposes this claim says that there are a large number of shrimpers which catch thousands of shrimps currently. Therefore, it is very likely for turtles to be trapped when considering these shrimp-fishing boats as a whole and there is a big problem to be solved.

Secondly, the passage argues that there are other methods such as shortening the time limit that shrimp boats are allowed to keep their nets underwater that may be more effective than TEDs. The speaker, on the other hand, views this issue from an opposite angle. According to her, it is impossible for people to monitor how long the nets are used underwater, but other methods can be enforced like checking the trapped turtles before leaving, which is an effective approach when using TEDs.

Third, the author states that TEDs are not effective for larger species of endangered sea turtles. By contrast, in accordance with the professor, this viewpoint is not convincing either. She thinks that people can modify nets that are equipped with TEDs easily and produce larger ones that are suitable for large turtles to escape. Consequently, using this kind of TEDs are effective as well.