"NOAA Backs Off Turtle Death Data in the Gulf"

"BILOXI -- NOAA Fisheries has data that shows Gulf shrimpers are now using their turtle-protection devices. Partly because of this, the agency has decided not to impose emergency measures on the shrimping industry in order to stop the unusually high number of sea-turtle deaths in the northern Gulf since the BP oil spill in 2010."

"For one thing, the biggest spike in sea turtle deaths this year came in April, a month before the shrimp season opened.

A spokeswoman for the shrimping industry called it 'an absolute victory.' ...

And environmentalists said it’s an encouraging sign, but not the end of the issue."

Karen Nelson reports for the Biloxi Sun Herald August 12, 2011.