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Marine Turtle Newsletter 116:30-32, © 2007
NEWS AND LEGAL BRIEFS
This section is compiled by Kelly Samek. You can submit news items at any time online at <https://seaturtle.org/news/>, via e-mail to news@seaturtle.org, or by regular mail to Kelly Samek, 127 E 7th Avenue, Havana, Florida 32333, USA. Many of these news items and more can be found at <https://seaturtle.org/news/>, where you can also sign up for news updates by E-mail. Note that News Items are taken directly from various media sources and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the editorial members of the MTN.
GLOBAL
Global Warming Places Some Turtles at Risk
A British-led study has determined North American marine turtles are at risk if global warming occurs at predicted levels. University of Exeter scientists say an increase in temperature of 1 degree Celsius could eliminate the birth of male turtles from some beaches. A rise of 3 degrees Celsius would lead to extreme levels of infant mortality and declines in nesting beaches across the United States. The researchers analyzed 26 years of loggerhead turtle nesting and climate data and compared the findings with models for future temperatures. The research, conducted in partnership with the Bald Head Island Conservancy and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources, appears in the journal Global Change Biology. Source: UPI, 20 February 2007.
AFRICA
Marine Turtle Nestings on the Rise in South Africa
Loggerhead nestings have reached record levels in South Africa, a positive sign for the endangered marine turtle. According to monitoring conducted by WWF-South Africa over the 2005-06 season, more than 2,000 loggerhead nestings were recorded along a 56km stretch of the northern KwaZulu Natal coastline. Populations of the more critically endangered leatherback turtle are also thriving here, with an average of 70–80 nestings per season. One of the main contributing factors to the stability of South Africa’s marine turtle populations is that they breed almost entirely within the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, which is a designated marine protected area and World Heritage site. Elsewhere, populations are in decline due to the consumption of turtle meat and eggs in poverty-stricken coastal areas, and as a result of fisheries bycatch and abandoned drift nets. Source: WWF press release, 19 February 2007.
Lobby Groups Raise Concerns Over Threat to Turtle Habitats
Marine conservationists have raised fresh concern over the alarming number of turtle deaths along the Kenyan coast. Over the last two years, many dead sea turtles have been swept ashore on the Kenyan coastline. Conservationists attribute the deaths to bad fishing methods. Project coordinator of the local Ocean Trust/Watamu Turtle Watch Steve Trott said the biggest threat was posed by trawling in shallow waters. The use of gill nets, jariffe nets and industrial long line fishing is also to blame. Mr. Trott said the death toll for Watamu only could be as high as 400 annually and was a very small fraction of cases along the entire Kenyan coastline. Most of the dead turtles, the conservationists say, have their flippers cut off at the shoulder and severe lacerations around the neck, which are caused by large fishing nets. The Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee, the organisation that looks into the welfare of sea creatures, says 85 per cent of the causes of deaths and threats to turtles are due to human activities. Source: The Daily Nation, 9 April 2007.
THE AMERICAS
Turtle Numbers Cause Concern
The loss of almost 40 percent of loggerhead turtle nests on Florida beaches between 1998 and 2005 has prompted a vigorous lobbying effort for legislation to protect sea turtle populations and their habitats. Joined by the University of Florida’s Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission, turtle conservationists worldwide have been emphasizing the critical role turtles play in the health and fertility of ecosystems through which they travel. Loggerhead strandings in 2004 and 2005 were the highest since 1989, the first year records were kept by the commission. Some 800 loggerhead carcasses were washed up on Florida’s shores in 2005. But that may be just a fraction of the true count, because they sink to the bottom after being caught by fishermen. Shrimp lines and longlines used to catch tuna, sharks and swordfish in deep waters off the coast of Southwest Florida kill most turtles. Source: Venice Gondolier, 14 January 2007
Male Turtle Populations Crashing in the Heat
The gender of marine turtle offspring is determined by the temperature at which the eggs are incubated: high temperatures lead to a higher proportion of females. In Florida, 90% of offspring are females, while in North Carolina, female turtles make up a more balanced 58% of the population. Male loggerhead turtles could entirely disappear from the beaches of Florida if the temperatures there rise by 2°C, according to a new study. This gender imbalance means female turtles in Florida will be increasingly reliant on male turtles migrating from North Carolina, hundreds of miles up the Atlantic coast, in order to breed. And as the coast warms, the northern male turtle population will find it harder to meet such breeding demands, the researchers fear. Researchers believe that some males may already be travelling south from North Carolina to reproduce, bolstering the populations there. Source: New Scientist, 21 February 2007.
Authorities Check Fishing Vessels in Suriname
Under the auspices of the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Suriname’s Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries has conducted inspections on fishing trawlers. The vessels were scrutinised as to whether installed turtle excluder devices (TED) were functioning properly. Officials inspected the trawlers of the state-owned Suriname American Industries Ltd, Suriname Japan Fisheries and Guiana Seafoods. So far, only one fishing net was found not in accordance with the guidelines. The officials also traveled to sea with several of the boats to watch their operations. In July 1999 Suriname was certified by the US State Department stating that the country was adhering to the acceptable fishing practices regarding the conservation of sea turtles. With this certification fishing companies were allowed to continue shrimp exports to the US market. Source: Caribbean Net News, 27 February 2007.
Mexican Wrestler Campaigns to Stop the Enemies of the Sea
Mexico’s famous professional wrestler “Hijo del Santo,” or “Son of the Saint” broadened his battle arena to encompass the Pacific Ocean’s eastern coastline, where overfishing, turtle egg hunting, and pollution are threatening marine resources. In addition to performing acrobatic duels in the ring with opponents dressed as evil characters, the silver-masked “Hijo del Santo” pledged to devote the greater part of this year helping to raise consciousness about how human actions are threatening the ocean. The wrestler will aid the nongovernmental, U.S.-based organization WildCoast with its campaign to stop sea turtle consumption in Mexico, defend protected areas on California’s coast, and promote saving the gray whales in Baja California. To raise consciousness, El Hijo will visit various coastal communities in northern Mexico, where he will distribute educational comics featuring his character confronting threats to the ocean. Source: Surfline.com, 13 March 2007.
ASIA
Turtle-friendly Fishing Hooks to be Introduced Here
London’s Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has joined hands with Young’s Sea Food and fishermen in Sri Lanka to introduce a turtle friendly fishing hook that would save the island’s endangered sea turtles. It is estimated that thousands of Sri Lanka’s sea turtles are accidentally snagged by longline fishing hooks every year. More than 30,000 circular turtle friendly hooks are being implemented by a fleet of seven longline fishing vessels, the MCS said. The new circular fishing hooks will replace the traditional ‘J’ shaped ones. The traditional hooks could snag turtles or can be swallowed by them leading to suffocation or internal bleeding caused by injuries. It is expected that the new kind of fishing hooks will reduce the deaths of 90% turtles caught in the longline fisheries. But the 30,000 hooks distributed will be only fraction of the total number of hooks necessary in Sri Lanka. If the experiment is successful, the retail chain will work with the supplier, Young’s Sea Food to distribute the turtle friendly hooks with the rest of the fishermen who use J shaped hooks. Source: The Daily News (Sri Lanka), 5 March 2007.
Taiwan Sets Up Turtle Reserve on Disputed Island
A green turtle reserve has been established on a disputed South China Sea island where fishing boats from surrounding nations hunt the endangered species, a local official said. The Marine Bureau of Kaohsiung, a south Taiwan port city, has declared the ocean around Taiping Island a protected area for at least two subspecies of green turtle that frequent the area and are listed internationally as endangered. Brunei, China, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines also claim the 51 Spratly islands and reefs, of which Taiping is the largest at 489,500 square meters and least prone to sand or mud erosion that hurts turtles, said Cheng Yi-chun, a professor at Taiwan National Ocean University. Source: Reuters, 12 March 2007.
OCEANIA
Turtles May Fall Victim to Australian Gas Project
Environmentalists say that Barrow’s flatbacks may be among the victims of a plan by the oil giant Chevron to use Barrow Island for a roughly $8.6 billion project meant to supply natural gas to Japan and other energy-hungry nations. Chevron and its minority partners in the venture, Exxon Mobil and Shell, say that Barrow is the only commercially viable location for the plant, which will liquefy gas piped from the Greater Gorgon gas fields 70 kilometers, or 43 miles, out to sea before it is then poured into enormous tankers. Environmentalists dispute the partners’ contention that only Barrow will do, and say that not even their best efforts can prevent such a large project from causing irreversible damage to the island’s unique environment. In June, the state of Western Australia’s own Environmental Protection Authority agreed, rejecting the project. Chevron appealed, and in December the state’s environment minister overruled the EPA, approving the project subject to new conditions that are still being determined. Gorgon’s partners now need only the approval of the Australian federal government. A spokesman for Malcolm Turnbull, the Australian minister for environment and heritage, said that the government was still assessing the project. Source: International Herald Tribune, 6 March 2007.