Assessment of Sea-Turtle Status and Trends
Integrating Demography and Abundance
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
500 Fifth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract No. DG133R08CQ0062 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-15255-6
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-15255-0
Cover: The front cover images include five of the six species of sea turtles found in U.S. waters (from top to bottom and left to right): leatherback (provided by Guillaume Feuillet, Association Kwata), Kemp’s ridley (provided by Selina Heppell, Oregon State University), hawksbill (provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), olive ridley (provided by Guillaume Feuillet, Association Kwata), and green (provided by Claire Fackler, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The back cover image is the sixth species, which is the loggerhead (provided by William Precht, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
Additional copies of this report are available from the
National Academies Press,
500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www.nap.edu.
Copyright 2010 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
COMMITTEE ON THE REVIEW OF SEA-TURTLE POPULATION ASSESSMENT METHODS
KAREN A. BJORNDAL (Chair),
University of Florida, Gainesville
BRIAN W. BOWEN,
University of Hawaii
MILANI CHALOUPKA,
Ecological Modelling Services Pty Ltd, St. Lucia, Australia
LARRY B. CROWDER,
Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina
SELINA S. HEPPELL,
Oregon State University, Corvallis
CYNTHIA M. JONES,
Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia
MOLLY E. LUTCAVAGE,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
ANDREW R. SOLOW,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
BLAIR E. WITHERINGTON,
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Melbourne Beach
Staff
JODI BOSTROM, Associate Program Officer
SUSAN PARK, Senior Program Officer (until December 31, 2009)
DAVID POLICANSKY, Scholar
JEREMY JUSTICE, Senior Program Assistant
NORMAN GROSSBLATT, Senior Editor
OCEAN STUDIES BOARD
DONALD F. BOESCH (Chair),
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge
EDWARD A. BOYLE,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
JORGE E. CORREDOR,
University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
KEITH R. CRIDDLE,
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Juneau
JODY W. DEMING,
University of Washington, Seattle
MARY (MISSY) H. FEELEY,
ExxonMobil Exploration Company, Houston, Texas
ROBERT HALLBERG,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Princeton University, New Jersey
DEBRA HERNANDEZ,
Hernandez and Company, Isle of Palms, South Carolina
ROBERT A. HOLMAN,
Oregon State University, Corvallis
KIHO KIM,
American University, Washington, DC
BARBARA A. KNUTH,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
ROBERT A. LAWSON,
Science Applications International Corporation, San Diego, California
GEORGE I. MATSUMOTO,
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, California
JAY S. PEARLMAN,
The Boeing Company (retired), Port Angeles, Washington
ANDREW A. ROSENBERG,
Conservation International, Arlington, Virginia
DANIEL L. RUDNICK,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California
ROBERT J. SERAFIN,
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
ANNE M. TREHU,
Oregon State University, Corvallis
PETER L. TYACK,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
DAWN J. WRIGHT,
Oregon State University, Corvallis
JAMES A. YODER,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
Staff
SUSAN ROBERTS, Director
CLAUDIA MENGELT, Senior Program Officer
DEBORAH GLICKSON, Program Officer
MARTHA MCCONNELL, Program Officer
JODI BOSTROM, Associate Program Officer
Acknowledgments
This report was greatly enhanced by the participants of the meetings held as part of the committee’s study. The committee acknowledges the efforts of those who gave presentations at meetings: Steve Murawski (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Barbara Schroeder (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Sandy MacPherson (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Earl Possardt (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Yan Jiao (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), Mark Maunder (Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission), Paul Wade (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and Bryan Wallace (Conservation International). Their talks helped to set the stage for fruitful discussions in the closed sessions that followed.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
RICHARD T. DURRETT, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
MASAMI FUJIWARA, Texas A&M University, College Station
MATTHEW GODFREY, Sea Turtle Project, Beaufort, North Carolina
BRENDAN GODLEY, University of Exeter, Tremough Campus, United Kingdom
MARTÍN HALL, Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, La Jolla, California
WILLIAM L. KENDALL, U.S. Geological Survey, Laurel, Maryland
JACK MUSICK, College of William and Mary, Gloucester, Virginia
EUGENIA NARO-MACIEL, American Museum of Natural History, New York
MICHAEL ORBACH, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina
JOSEPH M. QUATTRO, University of South Carolina, Columbia
H. BRADLEY SHAFFER, University of California, Davis
MELISSA SNOVER, National Park Service, Denali Park, Alaska
PATRICK SULLIVAN, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
JEANETTE WYNEKEN, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by John J. Magnuson (University of Wisconsin) and Robert T. Paine (University of Washington). Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
