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Marine Turtle Newsletter 51:26-27, © 1990

Panel Review of Kemp's Ridley Headstart Program

Thane Wibbels
Panel Chairman, Institute of Reproductive Biology, Department of Zoology,
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 USA

During August 1989 the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) convened an outside peer review of the Kemp's Ridley Headstart Program. The purpose of the review was to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and to make recommendations for the future direction of the program. The review panel consisted of Nat Frazer (Mercer University), Mark Grassman (Memphis State University), John Hendrickson (University of Arizona), Peter Pritchard (Florida Audubon Society), and Thane Wibbels (University of Texas at Austin). The following is a synopsis of the main points included in the panel's report to NMFS.

After evaluating the data presented to the panel by NMFS, the panel concluded that long-term tag return data indicate that headstarted Kemp's ridleys can adapt and grow in the wild. However, based on tag returns, stranding data, and nesting beach data, it is presently impossible to determine if headstarted ridleys are recruited into the natural breeding population because the mortality rate of Kemp's ridleys in the wild is so high that few if any headstarted (or wild) ridleys are expected to reach sexual maturity. Based on NMFS data, a significant portion of this mortality can be attributed to shrimp trawls. Thus, although the past efforts of this program do not appear to have improved the status of the natural breeding population, the panel felt that the program should be evaluated after the full implementation of TEDs. Therefore, the panel recommended that the program be continued (but not expanded) for a period of 10 years, based on current NMFS estimates that ridleys mature at approximately 6-8 years of age in the wild.

Considering the comprehensive nature of the Kemp's Ridley Headstart Program, the panel concluded that evaluation of this program represents an unprecedented opportunity to answer the question of whether or not headstarting is a viable conservation strategy. It was strongly emphasized, however, that this is purely an experimental program, and should not be viewed as a panacea for sea turtle conservation. If this experimental program is viewed by the public as the primary means of restoring the Kemp's ridley, then the most important element in the Kemp's ridley recovery plan (i.e., the protection of ridleys in their natural environment) could be jeopardized. This in turn would jeopardize the survival of the species.