Latest Sea turtles Stories
The number of sea turtles inadvertently snared by commercial fishing gear over the past 20 years may reach into the millions, according to the first peer-reviewed study to compile sea turtle bycatch data from gillnet, trawl and longline fisheries worldwide.The study, which was published online April 6 in the journal Conservation Letters, analyzed data compiled from peer-reviewed papers, government reports, technical reports, and symposia proceedings published between 1990 and 2008. All data...
Mexico's certification to export shrimp to the United States has been suspended because its trawls lack required protections for endangered sea turtles, the State Department said on Thursday. The ban on shrimp exports will come into effect beginning April 20, 2010, when the shrimping season ends. More than half of all Mexican shrimp is exported to the United States. The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service determined that Mexico's turtle excluder devices were no longer up to code with U.S....
With loggerhead sea turtle nests in dramatic decline, researchers would love to know more about where the turtles go, and what they eat, so they can better protect the creatures' habitat.Now, a team of University of Florida biologists from the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research teasing that information from the turtles' shells is reporting some surprising findings.Doctoral student Hannah Vander Zanden writes in Tuesday's online edition of the journal Biology Letters that analyses of...
TORONTO, March 17 /PRNewswire/ - The Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation has announced that Green Turtle's Reflo rainwater harvesting solution will be installed in two Ontario school buildings as part of their Green Schools Pilot Initiative. After completing an evaluation of companies that develop, manufacture and market innovative green products the Ministry of Research and Innovation invited Green Turtle to participate in the Initiative. Soon after that, the Hamilton-Wentworth...
The loggerhead sea turtle should be classified as an endangered species, American wildlife agencies recommended on Wednesday, in a move that could provide enhanced protection for the world's largest hard-shelled turtle by next summer.According to Baltimore Sun reporter Timothy B. Wheeler, "The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said they had determined that the status of seven of nine population groups of the turtles...
Conservationists said on Wednesday that Malaysia's voracious appetite for turtle eggs could drive the marine creatures to extinction on its shores. Hundreds of thousands of turtle eggs are eaten in Malaysia each year, according to a report by environmental group WWF."One of the contributing factors to the leatherback turtles' disappearance from our shores is egg consumption," said WWF-Malaysia executive director Dionysius S.K. Sharma."We wouldn't want the same thing to happen...
Biologging "“ the use of miniaturized electronic tags to track animals in the wild "“ has revealed previously unknown and suprising behaviors, movements, physiology and environmental preferences of a wide variety of ocean animals. For instance, biologgers have recorded 5,000 foot (1,550 m) dives by Atlantic bluefin tuna, followed journeys of elephant seals halfway across the Pacific from their breeding beaches, and observed annual 40,000 mile migrations of sooty shearwaters "“ the...
Spanish scientists have studied interactions between the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) and fishing gear such as longline hooks used at the water surface, mass beachings, and the effects of climate change on these animals. In order to reduce captures of this marine species without causing economic losses for fishermen, the scientists are proposing that fishing in the summer should only be carried out by night and in areas more than 35 nautical miles from land.Populations of loggerhead...
Life can be scary for endangered loggerhead sea turtles immediately after they hatch. After climbing out of their underground nest, the baby turtles must quickly traverse a variety of terrains for several hundred feet to reach the ocean.While these turtles' limbs are adapted for a life at sea, their flippers enable excellent mobility over dune grass, rigid obstacles and sand of varying compaction and moisture content. A new field study conducted by researchers at the Georgia Institute of...
ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- WHAT: The Arctic blast that has most of the country in a frigid vice grip is also taking its toll on endangered sea turtles. Since January 6, nearly 100 "cold-stunned" sea turtles from Florida to North Carolina have taken shelter at SeaWorld Orlando's Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. Cold stun is a condition that causes sea turtles to become lethargic and float to the surface due to extreme cold water temperatures. To view the multimedia assets...
Latest Sea turtles Reference Libraries
The Hawksbill Turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The species is distributed throughout all of the world's seas, but the Atlantic and pacific populations are divided into two subspecies. E. I. imbricata is the Atlantic subspecies and E. I. bissa is the Pacific subspecies. The Hawksbill is predominantly known as a tropical sea turtle found in the tropical seas of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. However, they...
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Caretta caretta, is the only member of the genus Caretta. It is prevalent in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There is a subspecies that is also found in the Greek Islands and in the waters off southwestern Turkey. Loggerheads live most of their lives in open water. They may be found along the ocean floor or near the shore where they mainly forage. The adult loggerhead can weigh as much as 200 pounds and can reach close to 40 inches in length. Most loggerheads...
Kemp's Ridley, Lepiochelys kempii, is a critically endangered species of sea turtle. Their range includes the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. They are also the only turtle which almost all the females return to one single beach (Rancho Nuevo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas) every single year to lay their eggs. They are the smallest of the sea turtle species, growing less than 40 inches and weighing about 100 pounds as an adult. Kemp's Ridley sea turtle changes color with its...
The Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia mydas, is a large sea turtle. Its distribution extends throughout tropical, subtropical and some warmer temperate waters. In the Atlantic, they are found off the coast of Florida and around the U.S. Virgin Islands and Costa Rica. In the Pacific, they are found from the Hawaiian Islands all the way to Midway. Other subspecies of the Green Sea turtle extend all over southern climatic waters. The Green Sea Turtle grows to 39 to 59 inches in length, and can...
The Leatherback Sea Turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, is the biggest of all living turtles. It reaches a length of over 8.8 feet and a weight of 2,000 pounds. It is the world's 4th largest reptile. It is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans. It is the only extant species in the genre Dermochelys and the family Dermochelyidae. This species has many unique features that distinguish it greatly from other sea turtles. Its shell lacks the bony scales of other turtles, comprising mainly of...
