MTN 122:14-15 United States Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN) State Coordinators Meeting (Shepherdstown, WV, 29-31 July 2008)

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United States Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN) State Coordinators Meeting (Shepherdstown, WV, 29-31 July 2008)

Sara McNulty, Wendy Teas & Barbara Schroeder
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (E-mail: sara.mcnulty@noaa.gov)

The STSSN was formally established in the United States East Coast and Gulf of Mexico in 1980. Each of the U.S. Endangered Species Act Sea Turtle Recovery Plans, developed jointly by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), recommend maintaining a stranding network as part of a comprehensive national program for the conservation and recovery of listed sea turtles. The STSSN is coordinated overall by NMFS, and consists of a coordinator for each state (Maine through Texas), as well as trained volunteers and municipal, state and federal employees operating under the direction of the state coordinator and NMFS. The purpose of the STSSN is to document dead sea turtles, salvage specimens, and aid injured sea turtles that strand in coastal areas under United States jurisdiction. The STSSN collects the following information: name and address of observer/responder, date, stranding location, species identification, state of decomposition, description of any obvious wounds, injuries or abnormalities, standard carapace measurements, and carcass or live turtle disposition. Photographs are taken whenever possible to verify species identification. NMFS holds regular meetings with the state STSSN coordinators to exchange information and to jointly develop recommendations for improving the STSSN.

The most recent state coordinators meeting occurred on 29-31 July 2008, at the National Conservation Training Center, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Twenty seven people from NMFS, FWS, state agencies, private organizations and aquaria participated. Sixteen states were represented at the meeting. The meeting began with short presentations by each state coordinator detailing their specific programs and stranding numbers. The meeting then progressed into a series of group discussions covering several topic areas, including: stranding data coordination, necropsy and sampling protocols, health and disease, rehabilitation, and funding options for stranding network programs

Notable Topics Covered:

Health and Disease: Each state in the STSSN encounters consistent strandings of debilitated turtles, and some states have seen increases in recent years. There was discussion on general disease monitoring of stranded turtles to gain a better understanding of what is occurring in the population. The stranding network is in a unique position to necropsy and sample turtles, and to improve our ability to determine the cause of death and/or the cause of debilitation of stranded animals.

Unusual Stranding Events: Participants discussed the overall preparedness of the STSSN to identify and investigate unusual or mass stranding events. It was suggested that a more formal program (similar to the U.S. Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, Unusual Mortality Event) may be helpful in order to determine that an unusual stranding event is occurring earlier in the process, which will allow for a more comprehensive investigation of the cause.

Injury Assessment: Participants discussed if the STSSN should increase their level of investigating and documenting injuries to better determine the source of injury, and whether or not a particular injury contributed to the stranding. Injuries commonly encountered include vessel strikes, predator injuries, and fishery interactions.

Acknowledgements: We thank all the participants for engaging in the discussions and contributing to a successful meeting.