Enviros are calling on Texas to tighten shrimping restrictions on the Gulf Coast to protect sea turtles, including the endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle. In 1999, shrimp fishing was responsible for the stranding of 95 Kemp’s ridley turtles and 355 other turtles, and the vast majority of them died, according to members of the Sierra Club and Environmental Defense. Yesterday the groups submitted a proposal to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department calling for closure of some coastal shrimping areas. Officials at the department are in the midst of reviewing shrimp regulations and said they will consider the enviros’ recommendations.
