Even though many sea turtle populations are declining, quantifying factors that contribute to declines has been challenging. Mortality occurs on nesting beaches due to habitat loss, egg poaching, and predation. But turtles also die at sea due to accidental catches in fishing gear.
In the March issue of Ecology Letters, Duke University researchers quantify incidental catch of loggerheads (Caretta caretta) and leatherbacks (Dermochelys coricea) in the global pelagic longline fishery.
Despite infrequent encounters between turtles and longlines, the sheer magnitude of the longline fishery means more than 200,000 loggerheads and 50,000 leatherbacks were likely caught worldwide in 2000. Although not all encounters are fatal, thousands of hooked turtles die from bycatch each year. The authors report that Pacific turtles vulnerable to longline hooks have about a 50% chance of being caught per year, which means more Pacific turtles die from longline takes each year than nest there. Given 80-95% declines for Pacific loggerhead and leatherback populations, this bycatch is not sustainable.
Kate Stinchcombe | Source: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Further information: www.blackwellpublishing.com/
More articles from Ecology, The Environment and Conservation:
Hidden threat: Elevated pollution levels near regional airports
20.11.2009 | American Chemical Society
Fossil fuel CO2 emissions up by 29 percent since 2000
19.11.2009 | University of East Anglia
Scientists Unravel Evolution of Highly Toxic Box Jellyfish
20.11.2009 | Life Sciences
When good companies do bad things: Examining illegal corporate behavior
20.11.2009 | Business and Finance
UCR plant scientist's research spawns new discoveries showing how crops survive drought
20.11.2009 | Agricultural and Forestry Science
Multidisciplinary meeting on Urological Cancers aims to benefit cancer patients
20.11.2009 | Event News
'Golden Age' for clinical psychology in Northern Ireland
20.11.2009 | Event News
New Perspectives in Marine Anti-Fouling Research
11.11.2009 | Event News