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Endangered Sea Turtles Continue to Wash up Dead in Texas During The Shrimping Season. It’s Time to Create a Marine Reserve For These Ancient Creatures
Background
The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is the most critically endangered sea turtle in the world. Just 50 years ago, at least 40,000 females nested in a single day. Now less than 2,000 nest annually.
Federal laws requiring Turtle Excluder Devices in shrimp nets have not stopped the needless drowning of endangered sea turtles along the Texas coast. Inconsistent enforcement of and compliance with TEDs laws have resulted in continued high strandings of Kemp’s ridleys and other sea turtle species during the shrimping season.
A new solution to this longstanding problem is needed: It is time to create a no-commercial fishing zone (marine reserve) along Padre Island, Texas. To accomplish this new level of protection, Sea Turtle Restoration Project has launched a bi-national effort to create a safe haven for endangered Kemp’s ridleys along Padre Island.
Why Padre Island?
More adult Kemp's ridleys wash up dead at Padre Island than anywhere in the world. About half are pregnant females coming to nest. After years of protection, the number of nests are increasing with 8 nests found in 1997, 11 nests found in 1998 and possibly other nests that were not detected. Dead sea turtles don't lay eggs. A marine reserve will boost the slow recovery of these ancient ocean dwellers.
What is a marine reserve?
Marine reserves are marine areas given various levels of protection from human activity. Some of these areas are closed to oil drilling or commercial fishing. Many in the scientific community support the creation of marine protected areas or MPAs, also called marine reserves or marine parks.
Marine Protected Areas or MPAs are defined by the World Conservation Union as: "Any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features, which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment."
Despite current efforts to regulate fisheries and protect marine habitat and endangered species , the world’s estuaries, oceans and coastal waters are increasingly threatened.
Benefits:
* Protects marine biodiversity
* Opportunities for scientific research and education
* Economic benefits from tourism and increased property values
* Enhanced fisheries
Since 1972, the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has created 12 national marine sanctuaries, which represent barely one half of one percent of the ocean territory under U. S. jurisdiction. In comparison, about 4 percent of our land has been protected in national parks.
However, NOAA's marine sanctuaries are by no means underwater parks. They are multiple use areas.
Fishing is banned within only 36 square miles of all sanctuary waters. Only a national and worldwide network of Marine Protected Areas can protect our wild oceans and abundant marine life for the future.
Strandings
Nearly half of all dead adult Kemp's ridley sea turtles found stranded in the United States during the last five years were located at Padre Island; and considerably more Kemp’s ridley sea turtles may have nested at Padre Island had these deaths not occurred.
The Kemp's ridley's primary nesting site at Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, is protected by a no-fishing zone in adjacent waters. This has proven effective in protecting sea turtles en route to this nesting site. During 1998 the nesting-to-stranding ratio was 620 times higher
at Padre Island National Seashore than at Rancho Nuevo.
Recovery efforts
The United States and Mexican governments have spent millions of dollars and thousands of hours to try to establish a nesting colony of Kemp’s ridley sea turtles at Padre Island. Some turtles from this project have returned to nest at Padre Island. Populations are showing signs of recovery, but it will be many decades before this species is considered to be fully recovered, if ever.
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