Padre Island National Seashore             

 

 

 

Up Kemp's Ridley Mansfield Channel Marine Debris Nesting Trends Strandings

 

Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage

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Sea turtle stranding and salvage for the Texas Coast and associated research

Stranded sea turtles are those found washed ashore, either alive or dead. The Sea Turtle Stranding Network (STSSN) was established in 1980 and continues to consistently document all sea turtles found stranded on US beaches, transport live stranded turtles to rehabilitation facilities, and salvage dead turtles for necropsy and study. Maintenance of the STSSN is listed as a priority item in the recovery plans for all five species. All five sea turtles species occurring in the Gulf of Mexico, including the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), green (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), hawksbill (Eretmocheyls imbricata), and Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), are threatened or endangered and are located stranded on Texas beaches.

Stranded sea turtles are investigated to provide information on the life history of these species, stranding trends, and mortality factors. A variety of natural and human-related factors cause sea turtles to strand. Effective conservation of these species requires identification of stranding sources and attempts to reduce the impacts of human-related factors. Incidental capture within shrimp trawls is a significant source of sea turtle mortality on the Texas coast and strandings must be monitored to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of turtle excluder devices (TEDS).

                                                                         

Comparison of sea turtle stranding vs. shrimping season and closure (click to enlarge).

 

Ingestion of, and entanglement in, marine debris is another human-related source of sea turtle strandings. Marine debris ingestion by sea turtles must be investigated to determine the role of this factor in sea turtle mortality and evaluate the effectiveness of MARPOL Annex V regulations prohibiting the disposal of plastics and other trash in the Gulf of Mexico.

All sea turtles found stranded in Texas are documented on standardized STSSN forms. Live stranded sea turtles are transported to rehabilitation facilities and dead sea turtles are salvaged for necropsy and study. Turtles found stranded in south Texas are necropsied, and life history information and data important to the management of the five sea turtle species that occur in the Gulf of Mexico is collected.