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“Let sea turtles ride out Ike”
September 5, 2008
Contact: Carli Segelson
(727) 896-8626
Photos available at: http://research.myfwc.com/gallery/view_category.asp?cat...
Video available at: http://research.myfwc.com/features/view_article.asp?id=...
FWC: "LET SEA TURTLES RIDE OUT IKE"
People attempting to save sea turtles eggs and hatchlings may cause more harm than good, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) advises. Although storms can have a negative effect on sea turtle nests and hatchlings, these animals have evolved to have nesting strategies that enable them to survive natural events such as hurricanes. No storm season is a total loss to sea turtles, even in years when Florida has sustained direct hits.
Digging into marked or unmarked turtle nests in an effort to help may cause severe damage to the eggs. Sea turtle eggs are resilient, and if undisturbed, may still hatch despite waves washing over them. Disturbing sea turtle nests is a violation of both state and federal laws.
The FWC urges beachgoers to contact the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922) if they encounter a nest eroding into the ocean or a hatchling that is not actively crawling or appears sick or injured. Sick or injured turtles may need rehabilitation before returning to the wild.
Hatchlings moving toward the surf should be allowed to continue their trek without interference. These young turtles have the ability to swim through large waves.
Authorization from the FWC is required before transporting sea turtle eggs or hatchlings.
For more information about sea turtles, visit http://research.myfwc.com/. September 5, 2008 Contact: Carli Segelson (727) 896-8626 ... more -
Save the turtles! Oppose expanding longline fisheries
Tell fishery managers that preventing the extinction of sea turtles and other marine wildlife should be their first priority.
Please sign this and pass it on. If we don't stop actions like that of the fisheries, the ecosystem will be damaged beyond repair.
Let's REDUCE our footprint on this great planet and its wonderful life forms.
Thank you. Tell fishery managers that preventing the extinction of sea turtles and other marine wildlife should be their first priority. ... more -
100 Hawksbill turtles die in latest Filipino poaching incident
Foreign poaching of Philippines marine life has flared up as an issue again following the discovery of more than 100 dead Hawksbill turtles aboard a Vietnamese fishing vessel apprehended near Malampaya.
The fishing boat’s 13-man crew flooded their vessel as a Filipino gunboat approached them near the country’s main gas field, around 80km off the coast of Palawan Island in the South China Sea. A total of 101 Hawksbill turtles were found drowned in the vessel’s cargo hold.Â
Resting sea turtles, which grow up to a metre in length and can weigh as much as 80kg, can remain submerged for up to two hours but stressed individuals must resurface every few minutes.
“Again and again, foreign nationals have encroached upon Philippine waters to plunder our nation’s dwindling marine resources,” said WWF Project Manager RJ de la Calzada. “It disheartens us to find the animals we work so hard to conserve slaughtered on a wholesale basis.”
Distinguished from other sea turtles by a hooked beak and heavily-serrated carapace, the Hawksbill has for millennia been hunted for food and tortoiseshell, a material used as far back as the ancient Greek and Roman times to fashion jewellery, combs and brushes.Â
The Hawksbill turtle is protected under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which prohibits all international trade. It is also now classified by the IUCN as Critically Endangered, the highest risk rating for a living animal. Under Philippine and international law it is illegal to capture and kill sea turtles and to trade in turtle by-products.
The 13 Vietnamese poachers are just the latest in a long line to have intruded upon Philippine waters, violating both local and international laws. Last year over 200 Green turtles were retrieved in the Sulu Sea and two years ago 359 CITES-protected Napoleon or Humphead Wrasse were seized. Foreign poaching of Philippines marine life has flared up as an issue again following the discovery of more than 100 dead Hawksbill tu... more -
Urban Sea Turtles
Green sea turtles usually make their homes in tropical waters, however there is a group of "odd ball turtles" that have turned an area of the San Gabriel River (more than a mile upstream from the beach) into their regular stomping grounds. Scientists are stumped by the behavior of the seven turtles that have been discovered living in this 100-yard-wide river channel at the Los Angeles County-Orange County line. Green sea turtles are an endangered species and date back as far as 30 million years. Green sea turtles usually make their homes in tropical waters, however there is a group of "odd ball turtles" that have turn... more
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Releasing of a Green Sea Turtle, Baja Mexico
Footage of the last of six Green Sea Turtles which were released during the seventh annual Festival de la Tortuga, which took place during July of 2008 in the small fishing town of Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur, Mexico. This festival, originally started by The Center for Coastal Studies at the School for Field Studies, celebrates and promotes the conservation of the populations of the five species of sea turtles in Magdalena Bay. The sea turtle population, along with many other species, such as the common dolphin, the sea lion and the gray whale, which inhabit Magdalena Bay have faced increased mortality rates due to human development, fisheries, and pollution. This year the Festival had the highest attendance rates to date and brought people from all around the Magdalena Bay area, in an attempt to educate and promote conservation of the Bay and the many species which call it home. Footage of the last of six Green Sea Turtles which were released during the seventh annual Festival de la Tortuga, which took place du... more
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Marine Turtle Conservation Moves into High Gear
An innovative regional agreement is beginning to turn the tide for the 'ancient mariners' of the world's oceans.
Marine turtles traverse the seas for thousands of kilometers, returning after decades to nest in the same area where they entered the world as tiny hatchlings.
They are threatened by degradation of critical habitats on land, interaction with fishing gear at sea, and excessive harvesting of eggs and for meat.
A new report, prepared for a forthcoming meeting in Bali of 27 signatories to a region-wide turtle conservation agreement, gives the most comprehensive picture to date of how well countries have been tackling these problems.
Douglas Hykle, who coordinates the agreement's activities from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) office in Bangkok, said national reports clearly show signatory states are making efforts to monitor, manage and protect their marine turtle populations.
"Participating countries have made progress in many areas, but there is still room for improvement. Many have yet to clearly describe their resource needs and to mobilise sufficient funding for domestic implementation; and only a few are carrying the burden of supporting international coordination efforts," he said.
Examples of progress include Australia, which has multi-million dollar programmes in place to support the development of community-driven approaches to turtle conservation and to find solutions to the problem of ghost nets.
Indonesia is carrying out advanced research to identify interactions between fisheries and turtles and to work with industry to mitigate impact.
The Seychelles has devised innovative approaches to involve the private sector in practical conservation measures
Official delegations from more than 30 countries are expected to attend the Bali conference. An innovative regional agreement is beginning to turn the tide for the 'ancient mariners' of the world's oceans. ... more -
Mexico finds dozens of dead sea turtles
Environmental officials in Mexico say dozens of dead sea turtles apparently killed in fishing nets have washed up on beaches in recent days.
Authorities say 59 Olive Ridley turtles have been found on beaches in and around the resort of Acapulco.
Environmental protection officer Manuel de Jesus Solis says his agency found 12 dead turtles bearing marks apparently caused by fishing nets. It was unclear which fishing boats were involved.
Victor Berdejo says another 47 dead turtles were found by personnel at a turtle-protection area he supervises.
The sea turtles, once hunted in Mexico for their meat and eggs, were declared a protected species in 1990. Fishermen are required to include turtle escape devices in their nets. Environmental officials in Mexico say dozens of dead sea turtles apparently killed in fishing nets have washed up on beaches in recent... more -
Plastic bags kill up to one million sea creatures every year
"You can't leave the ocean to take care of itself," says a surfer interviewed in the remarkable film "Hawaii: Message in the Waves".
"One of the saddest signs of the times for me is seeing what the dolphins are playing with."
The toys that she is talking about are the detritus of our consumer society; the plastic bags, briefly used, thrown away and now clogging up our oceans.
Across the world more than 13 billion bags are issued every year to shoppers -- that's about 220 per person. On average they are used for 12 minutes before being discarded, but then they remain in the environment for thousands of years.
In Hawaii, due to the action of tides and currents, the bags congregate in the coastal waters, and "Message in the Waves" shows the horrendous consequences of our throwaway culture for the wildlife -- the turtles, sea birds, whales and dolphins tangled up and choking on the trash we throw away.
The world awash with plastic bags
Environment California estimate that plastic bags kill up to one million sea creatures every year, and the British Antarctic Survey have found them floating far north of the Arctic Circle, and as far south as the Falkland Islands.
In June 2006 a United Nations Environmental Program report estimated that there is an average of 46,000 pieces of plastic debris in every square mile of ocean.
There is an area of the Pacific the size of Texas known as the "trash vortex" or "plastic soup" where gyrating currents hold an estimated six kilos of plastic for every kilo of plankton, according to Greenpeace.
In April 2002 a dead minke whale was washed up on the coast of Normandy, France, with nearly a kilogram of plastic bags in her stomach that she had mistaken for food. The plastic also acts as a chemical sponge absorbing some of the worst pollutants in the sea and increasing its toxicity when swallowed. "You can't leave the ocean to take care of itself," says a surfer interviewed in the remarkable film "Hawaii: Mess... more -
Biologists call for balloon ban
Marine conservationists are calling for a ban on mass balloon releases because of the problems the balloons can eventually cause for wildlife. Marine conservationists are calling for a ban on mass balloon releases because of the problems the balloons can eventually cause for w... more
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Please help to save sea turtles!
Their numbers are dwindling, FAST. They have been around for thousands and thousands of years. Please save them before we wipe them out in one lame human lifespan... Their numbers are dwindling, FAST. They have been around for thousands and thousands of years. Please save them before we wipe them ou... more
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saga of the turtle
This short documents the trial of a sea turtles existance
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Endangered Sea Turtled Slaughtered
An enormous Leatherback sea turtle was slaughtered in Gaza because residence thought it's blood was an aphrodisiac. Leatherback sea turtles are thought to be endangered. Children stood by as grown men flipped the large animal on it's back an cut it's throat. The had little recourse, but was obviously in pain and extremely frightened. An enormous Leatherback sea turtle was slaughtered in Gaza because residence thought it's blood was an aphrodisiac. Leatherback ... more
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Sea turtle travels from Indonesia to Oregon
It took 647 days for the 12,000 mile journey, but that did not discourage a Leatherback sea turtle from travelling to Oregon from Indonesia. It took 647 days for the 12,000 mile journey, but that did not discourage a Leatherback sea turtle from travelling to Oregon from Indo... more
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Save the Turtles
Thousands of Olive Ridley turtles hatch on the protected nesting beaches of Oaxaca, Mexico. Many believe the turtles are endangered due to poaching and climate change. Thousands of Olive Ridley turtles hatch on the protected nesting beaches of Oaxaca, Mexico. Many believe the turtles are endangered du... more
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Save the Sea Turtles!
Seriously?? What happened to legislation years ago that was supposed to require fisherman to have turtle escapes at the back of the net?? How is this situation NOT improving?? Seriously?? What happened to legislation years ago that was supposed to require fisherman to have turtle escapes at the back of the n... more
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Sea Turtles
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Sea Turtles
