Increasing turtle strandings in the southeast United States: A complicating factor

Increased strandings of dead loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta on southeast US shores may be the result of increased fishing efficiency and improved recruitment of young turtles to the population. Possibly, the practice of discarding overboard large amounts of unwanted fish and biological mater...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological conservation 1982-01, Vol.23 (3), p.213-215
Main Authors: Robert Shoop, C., Ruckdeschel, Carol
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Caretta caretta
Marine
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Summary:Increased strandings of dead loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta on southeast US shores may be the result of increased fishing efficiency and improved recruitment of young turtles to the population. Possibly, the practice of discarding overboard large amounts of unwanted fish and biological material may provide a major energy resource for loggerhead sea turtles and crabs, which are also loggerhead food items. Our observations show that many dead loggerheads stranded on Cumberland Island had eaten man-caught food in addition to the expected diet of crabs and other bottom-dwelling animals. Consideration of alternative methods of handling the incidental fish catch while trawling for shrimp may be useful in reducing the problem of killing of sea turtles in shrimp trawls.
ISSN:0006-3207
1873-2917
DOI:10.1016/0006-3207(82)90076-3