Loggerhead Sea Turtle
- Aidan Luyando
- Nov 30, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 3, 2023
(NORTHWEST ATLANTIC OCEAN REGION)
Aidan Luyando
Group 11A
November 11, 2023
GET TO KNOW THE LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE!
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle got it's name from their remarkably large heads. Their larger head is supported by powerful jaws which lock on to hard-shelled pray like various whelks and conchs. When the Loggerheads become adults, they have a reddish-brown heart shaped shell with a yellow bottom shell. A way to tell a male from a female is to check to see if the males have long tales that stretch beyond their rear carapace. The average Loggerhead in the United States average about 250 pounds and are about three feet long. Life for these endangered turtles begins with the nesting stage in the western rims of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, which happens to be one of the most nesting concentrations in the United States. They can live up to 50 years with an average life span of 47-67 years.
GEOGRAPHIC AND POPULATION CHANGES
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is a widely know species when it comes to marine life. They mainly occur through the temperate subtropical and tropical regions of the Atlantic (Ranging all the way to Argentina), Pacific (Ranging all the way from Alaska), and Indian Oceans. On the west coast, Loggerheads are very rare to site because the only nesting area they are found is in Southern Japan.
The most important nesting area for the Loggerhead Sea Turtles is a 20-mile section of coastline from Brevard and Indian River Countries that start in Melbourne Beach, to Wabasso Beach. That 20-mile range comprises the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge (ACNWR). Within the ACNWR, the turtles nest about 1,000 per mile by beaches near it. When they become adults, they tend to make extensive migrations between foraging areas and nesting areas. Female Loggerheads are able to reproduce when they are 17 years old, and stop reproducing at 33 years old.
The Loggerheads range changed throughout years due to over 50% of all Loggerheads ingesting plastic. 15% of young Loggerheads that have been examined have ingested such enorumous quantities of plastic which would obstruct their digestive system. "The nesting beaches acheive greater than 10,000 female nestings per year", (conserveturtles.org). There are about 100,000 total nests in the United States alone. Since most nestings on the Pacific take place in Japan, the population on the West has declined from 50 to 90 percent during the last 60 years. Theor estimated population currently is over 2 million.
LISTING DATE / CAUSE OF LISTING
The Loggerhead Turtle was first listed under the ESA as threatened throughout its range in 1978. Years later in 2011, "NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. FWS determined that the Loggerhead Sea Turtle was composed of 9 distinct population segmants that constitute that "species" that may be listed as threathened or endangered under the ESA", (fisheries.noaa.gov). In 1992, regulations to require turtle excluder devices in shrimp trawl fisheries to reduce sea turtle bycatch. There also has been other measures to reduce seat turtle bycatch under ESA and the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Some of those measures include circle hooks in longline fisheries, time and area closures for gillnets, and modifications to pound net leaders and Atlantic see scallop dredges.
RECOVERY PLAN
To recover the identification and guide the protection, conservation, and recovery of Loggerhead Sea Turtles, the ESA requires NOAA fisheries and the United States FWS to develop recovery plans which simulate a blueprint for protection of the species and a mesaurable option to guage progress toward recovery.
(fisheries.noaa.gov) Critical recovery actions for the Loggerhead species include:
Protecting sea turtles on nesting beaches and in marine enviornments
Protecting nesting and foraging habitats
Reducing bycatch in commerical, artisanal, and recreational fisheries
Reducing the effects of entanglement and ingestion of marine debris
Reducing vessel strikes in coastal habitats
Working with partners internationally to protect turtles in all life-stages
Supporting research and conservation projects consistent with recovery plan priorities
Implementation
NOAA fisheries is challenging itself to subtract effects from human activities that are minimizing the recovery of Loggerhead Turtle population in the United States and internationally.
Efforts to conserve loggerhead sea turtles:
Protecting habitat and designating critical habitat
Reducing bycatch
Rescue, disentanglement, and rehabilitation
Eliminating the killing of turtles and the collection of their eggs
Eliminating the harassment of turtles on nesting beaches through education and enforcement
Consulting with federal agencies to ensure their activities are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of listed species
Specific areas implemented include 38 marine areas around the NorthWest Atlantic Ocean DPS of Loggerhead Turtles. These 38 areas accumulate nearshore reproductive habitat, winter areas, breeding areas, migratory corridors, and Sargassum (Algae) habitat. In past reports, there is about 685 miles worth of nesting beaches in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Protect Their Habitat
Respecting their nesting beaches by removing plastic/trash away form their eggs, and refrain from driving on beaches. Driving on beaches can crush eggs and even grown Loggerheads.
Reduce Ocean Trash
Be a responsible human and throw away trash and recycling, fishing line, and balloons
Sign up for beach clean-up events at your local beach, river, lake, etc.
Maintain Distance
Try not to distrub nesting turtles, nests, or hatchlings
Attend proper sea turtle watches
Never feed or touch sea turtles as it can cause a change in their behavior
RESOURCES / REFRENCES
Fisheries, NOAA. “NOAA Fisheries.” | NOAA Fisheries, 1 Nov. 2022, www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/loggerhead-turtle/conservation-management.
“Information about Sea Turtles: Loggerhead Sea Turtle.” Sea Turtle Conservancy, conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-loggerhead-sea-turtle/. Accessed 12 Nov. 2023.
“Stock Images, Royalty-Free Images, Illustrations, Vectors and Videos - Istock.” iStockPhoto.Com, www.istockphoto.com/?irgwc=1&cid=IS&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=Skimbit+Ltd.&clickid=WIKR8g0cHxyNTsKw9%3AxQbyLgUkFVGuRDSz%3AOVQ0&utm_term=search.yahoo.com&utm_campaign=&utm_content=258824&irpid=10078. Accessed 12 Nov. 2023.
“Loggerhead Sea Turtle.” National Wildlife Federation, www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Reptiles/Sea-Turtles/Loggerhead-Sea-Turtle. Accessed 12 Nov. 2023.
Henn, Corrine. “These 5 Marine Animals Are Dying Because of Our Plastic Trash... Here’s How We Can Help.” One Green Planet, One Green Planet, 29 Nov. 2022, www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/marine-animals-are-dying-because-of-our-plastic-trash/.
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