A TED is usually an oval frame with vertical bars set at precise spacing that allows shrimp and fish to pass through to the cod end, at the back of the net, while turtles and other large objects are forced out through an opening covered by a net flap. TEDs improve the quality of the catch, as large objects such as logs do not crush it, and the reduction of debris in the back of the net saves fuel, which is a benefit to fishers.

Although TEDs have many advantages, fishers are often wary of using them because of the large exit ‘trapdoor’ in the net that allows turtles and debris to escape. They are concerned that their target catch will be lost through this opening, even though self-closing netting flaps cover it. In numerous trials across the world, however – and more recently through my work in Malaysia – we have found that the TEDs rarely cause a decline in catches. Even if they do, such a decline is normally offset by fuel savings and higher-quality product. For me the greatest problem was not that practical solutions did not exist, but rather that TEDs were ‘blacklisted’.

In the late 1990s the United States adopted legislation requiring countries that exported shrimp to the US to use bycatch-reduction devices such as TEDs. Malaysia and several other countries took the case to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), arguing that this imposed the laws of one country upon another. The WTO agreed and the US had to re-open the trade. For several years this went back and forth, until the WTO finally recognised the US’s position and what it was trying to do – save turtles. The dispute left many leaders, attorney generals and ministers of trade and industry across South and South-East Asia feeling sour. Malaysia no longer had a trading partner in the US and was forced to sell at other markets at lower prices. So TEDs were not popular. Indeed, they weren’t welcome. Talk of TEDs was infrequent and then only in whispers.

In those early days I used to spend more nights on the back of fishing boats than I did at home, much to the chagrin of my wife and three daughters. I learned how to sew fishing nets and fix problems with the TEDs, welding them myself when they broke or needed modifying. I had sewing needles, knives and twine in my car, on my boat, in my office and in my pockets. I had TEDs in my garage, in my office and in my car. Speaking the local language helped immensely and I became an adopted crew member on the boats, hauling nets and taking my turn at the helm. TEDs slowly gained acceptance among a small group of fishers; the programme was under way.

When some of my guys complained they didn’t quite understand how TEDs worked, I raised funds from Conservation International (Philippines) to create a short documentary video using one of Chua’s boats and crew together with some turtles from another research project of mine. Another grant by Conservation International enabled me to take six fishermen on a study tour in the US, hosted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Although the team I took didn’t speak much English, they all spoke ‘fishing’ and were happiest when out on the boats. These guys came back as ambassadors to the programme.

A year later, another round of GEF/SGP funding allowed me to expand the project to a second port in Sabah, where another project stalwart, Johnny Wong, came to my aid. During that phase I also put GoPro cameras on the nets to prove to fishermen that the flap was indeed closed and that turtles were being saved nearly every day. The camera footage was a real eye-opener and more fishing crews bought into the idea. I also convened a state-level workshop to spread the word far and wide, and both Chua and Johnny backed my claims. ‘TEDs work,’ they explained, ‘and not at any loss to the boats or our operations.’ Several grants from the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) allowed me to continue to trial TEDs at an experimental level.