Decline of the Sea Turtles Causes and Prevention (1990) / Chapter Skim
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4. Distribution of Sea Turtles in U.S. Waters
4. Distribution of Sea Turtles in U.S. Waters
Pages 51-60
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From page 51... ...
For our analysis, we have taken the most quantitative published information available or have reanalyzed the most extensive data bases available through the cooperation of individuals and government agencies. SOURCES OF INFORMATION Nesting Distribution Information on distribution of nests of loggerheads, green turtles, and leatherbacks in the continental United States has been obtained from aeri 51
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From page 52... ...
Fish and Wildlife Service, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and Florida Department of Natural Resources. Additional data were obtained from the U.S.
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From page 53... ...
OCEAN AX ~;: ~ gL ~ ~ 118 117 1 16 115 1 44 ;20~ -~- GULF OF MEXICO ~/ 25 99°00' 95°00' 91°00' 87°00' 83°00' 80°00' 79°00' 76°00' 73°00' 36°00'N 34°00'N 32°00'N 30°00'N 28°00'N 26°00'N NOTE: Asterisk indicates that zone has contractual arrangement for observing turtle stranding.
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From page 54... ...
Aerial Surveys Quantitative data are available for some regions to evaluate the seasonal changes in on/offshore distribution or the depth distribution of large individuals of the most abundant species, the loggerhead, along the Atlantic and gulf coasts of the United States. The most general picture comes from distributional maps compiled from aerial surveys taken in each quarter of the year for much of the Atlantic coast and portions of the gulf coast(Winn, 1982;Thompson, 1984; pers.
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From page 55... ...
and seasonal aerial surveys of loggerheads (per 10,000 km2) in shrimp-fishing zones.
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From page 56... ...
from aerial sightings can also be analyzed with respect to water depth over which the turtles were sighted within survey areas of 25,642 km2 at two locations on the gulf coast of southern Florida in August (Fritts and Reynolds, 1981) and seasonally both for the Atlantic coast of Florida off the primary nesting beaches of loggerheads near Cape Canaveral and the gulf coast of southern Florida (Fritts et al., 19831.
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From page 57... ...
In waters less than 50 m deep, minimum sighting densities of large loggerheads observed in October and December averaged about 50% of those for February, April, June, and August. Aerial surveys of coastal waters also demonstrate the high concentration of adult loggerheads off the primary nesting beaches along the Atlantic coast of Florida during spring and summer (Figure 4-21; sightings range up to about 7,900 per 10,000 km2.
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From page 58... ...
ONSHORE, OFFSHORE, AND DEPTH DISTRIBUTION Turtles caught in bottom trawls also provide information on depth distribution that is consistent with the marked decrease of large loggerheads and leatherbacks at increasing depths observed in the aerial surveys. Twenty-nine loggerheads were captured off Georgia and Florida (to Key West)
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From page 59... ...
Waters FIGURE 4-3 Sea turtle stranding, by species, 1987-1988. Fishing zones are shown on horizontal axes (see Figure 4-19.
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From page 60... ...
SUMMARY Data on distribution of sea turtles come from observations of nesting turtles, aerial surveys, the STSSN, and incidental captures in fishing gear. Nesting is most common on the Atlantic coast of Florida, and the loggerhead is the greatly predominant species.
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