The Atlanta Journal-Constitution • May 23, 2002

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution • May 23, 2002

Drowned turtles dot Ga. shores

Jingle Davis - Staff

Alarming numbers of threatened and endangered sea turtles have washed up dead on Georgia beaches in recent weeks. Officials suspect most drowned in the nets of king-sized shrimp boats from the Gulf of Mexico.

In a two-week period, 90 dead turtles were found, said David Bernhart of the National Marine Fisheries Service, a federal agency.

"The number of turtles [found dead] is extraordinary; five times the average for the same two-week period this time of year," he said.

Bernhart said the service may enact emergency regulations prohibiting night shrimping and mandating the use of devices designed to provide escape routes for turtles accidentally swept into shrimp nets.

However, he said the action probably would not come until after Memorial Day because of federal requirements for study and documentation.

Until then, the turtles remain at risk and Georgia officials are helpless to protect them, according to Mark Dodd, the sea turtle coordinator for the Wildlife Resources Division of the state Natural Resources Department.

Georgia waters are currently closed to shrimping, and all the boats are fishing offshore in federal waters, he said.

Dodd said the fact that seven of the 90 turtles were egg-bearing loggerheads was especially troubling.

"We usually have nine mature females a year wash ashore," he said. "They're the most important for species survival."

Loggerheads nest on beaches in Georgia, Florida and other Southeastern states during the summer months, usually returning to the same beach where they were hatched. Loggerhead females do not reach egg-bearing age for at least 25 years, Dodd said.

Studies indicate that the number of nesting turtles in Georgia is declining by an average of 3 percent a year.

Commercial fishing is blamed for most sea turtle deaths. Dodd and Bernhart say shrimp boats are the prime suspects again this year.

Dodd, who performed necropsies on the turtles, said none were killed by infections, parasites, shark bites or propeller strikes.

"They were all healthy; they all had a lot of fat," he said. "Their stomachs were full, indicating they were feeding right up to the time of death."

Most were found on beaches from Sea Island south to Cumberland Island, Bernhart said, the same area where the Gulf boats were fishing.

More large Gulf Coast boats are fishing off Georgia than ever before, Bernhart said.

"Shrimping used to be a seasonal activity," he said, "but now these boats follow the shrimp."

John Wallace, president of the Darien-based Georgia Shrimp Association, said at least 65 Gulf boats are fishing between Savannah and St. Marys now.

"Some of the shrimpers say there are as many as 100 slabs out there," he said. "We call them slabs because they're just a big old slab of lumber or steel."

Dodd put the number of big shrimp boats at closer to 30.

The 90-foot boats can drag nets twice as large as those pulled by Georgia boats. They shrimp all night, while Georgia shrimpers traditionally return to port each evening.

Slabs are equipped with freezers, allowing them to hold their catch for months at a time. Few unload at Georgia docks, Wallace said.

He said the slabs, along with 250 to 300 Georgia boats working offshore, are putting stress on offshore waters.

"It doesn't give the bottom, the shrimp or the turtles time to rest," he said.

Wallace challenged the notion that shrimpers are not using the most protective type of turtle excluder device. Shrimpers dislike the devices because they allow part of the catch to escape. More than 70 percent of Georgia boats use them voluntarily, even in offshore waters, Dodd said.

The majority of the dead turtles were threatened loggerheads. In addition, 10 endangered Kemps-Ridleys and three endangered leatherbacks have washed up, along with 10 unidentified turtles.

Although loggerheads can remain submerged for 30 minutes or more, they must surface regularly to breathe.

Since most shrimp boats drag their nets for two hours or more, trapped turtles drown before the nets are hauled aboard.