Loggerhead sea turtles could soon receive greater protection following a proposal by the NOAA’s Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
The Services announced their joint determination that the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta
caretta) is globally comprised of nine distinct population segments (DPSs) that deserve endangered or threatened status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
"Our joint analysis of the nine loggerhead DPSs also lead us to the finding
that two of these populations should be proposed for listing as threatened, while the other seven
should be proposed for listing as endangered.” said Eric Schwaab.
The two DPSs proposed as threatened are the
South Atlantic Ocean and the Southwest Indian Ocean. The seven DPSs proposed as
endangered are the North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, Southeast Indo-Pacific Ocean,
North Indian Ocean, Northwest Atlantic Ocean, Northeast Atlantic Ocean, and Mediterranean
Sea.
Loggerhead sea turtles are currently listed as threatened throughout their range.
In August 2007, the Services completed an ESA five-year review of the loggerhead turtle and
recommended that the species be fully examined in accordance with the DPS policy to
determine whether the species exists as DPSs and, if so, what the status of those DPSs is.
In 2007, the Services received a petitions from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD)
and Turtle Island Restoration Network requesting that loggerhead sea turtles in the North Pacific and Northwest Atlantic
be reclassified as DPSs with endangered status, and that critical habitats be designated.
Following a detailed review of findings by a Loggerhead Biological Review
Team (BRT), the Services determined that the petitioned actions were
warranted.
The Services currently are soliciting public comment on the proposed listing determination.
The Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC), a sea turtle research and protection group, applauded the proposal but said that it is "long overdue."
The group focuses primarily on Northwest Atlantic loggerheads, which nest on beaches from North Carolina to Texas. Florida accounts for over 90% of loggerhead nesting in the United States. Protection provided by the Endangered Species Act and implementation of regulations requiring Turtle Excluder Devices in shrimp nets to prevent the drowning of entrapped turtles contributed to encouraging nesting increases from 1986 to 1998. Since that time, however, nesting throughout Florida has declined by nearly 50%. Nesting populations also are declining in the other states, for which long-term information is available.
Loggerheads face numerous threats onshore where they nest and at sea, but accidental capture, injury and death in commercial fisheries is perhaps the greatest peril to their survival today.
In January, concern about the species was elevated when loggerheads were ominously absent among sea turtles rescued from record cold waters in Florida. Over 4,000 juvenile sea turtles were affected by prolonged freezing temperatures. Unlike previous cold-stun events, when a near even mix of green turtles and loggerheads were impacted, almost all of the turtles found this year were green turtles. The absence of loggerheads among the massive number of turtles rescued raises concerns that juvenile loggerheads, as well as nesting adults, are in decline.
"Overwhelming evidence points to accidental capture in fishing lines, hooks, nets and dredges as the main culprit in these declines," David Godfrey, CCC’s Executive Director, said. "International fleets capture, injure and kill tens of thousands of loggerheads on the high seas every year. In U.S. waters, NMFS has allowed our fisheries to kill thousands of large and small loggerheads rather than adequately regulate fishing." Loggerheads spend many years in the open ocean before settling into near-shore habitats; the varied loggerhead diet of soft invertebrates and hard-shelled animals puts the species at a greater risk from fisheries than any other species of sea turtle. Godfrey warned that much of what has been accomplished over the last three decades for this species will be lost if NMFS does not implement serious fisheries policy changes soon.
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