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THE SEA TURTLE
CONSERVATION STRATEGY |
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Bahamas
Department of Fisheries |
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Project Partners: |
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Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, University of Florida |
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The Bahamas Archipelago stretches for nearly
1000 km north to south and 500 km east to west.
This vast area of shallow seas comprises one of the most extraordinary
habitats for sea turtles in the
Sea turtles face ever-increasing threats
in the
Project Objectives
Develop
a Conservation Strategy for Sea Turtles
in the Bahamas and an implementation plan for the Strategy during a 3-day workshop that was held 25-27 January 2006 in
Present
the Conservation Strategy for Sea Turtles
in the Bahamas and implementation plan to appropriate government agencies
in the
Develop
and distribute brochures and posters highlighting sea turtles and the principal
elements of the Conservation Strategy for
Sea Turtles in the Bahamas in cooperation with the Bahamas National Trust,
The Nature Conservancy, and other NGOs in the
Workshop Dates and Location
The
Workshop was held 25-27 January 2006 in
Workshop Documents
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publication as a pdf file.
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Workshop Agenda [html / htm version]
Background reference:
·
Bjorndal, K.A. and A.B. Bolten. 2003.
From ghosts to key species: restoring sea turtle populations to fulfill
their ecological roles. Invited paper
for the 100th Issue of the Marine Turtle Newsletter 100:16-21. 
Selected Recent Research Publications on Sea Turtles
in the
·
Lahanas, P.N, K.A. Bjorndal, A.B. Bolten, S.E.
Encalada, M.M. Miyamoto, R.A.Valverde, and B.W. Bowen. 1998.
Genetic composition of a green turtle (Chelonia mydas) feeding ground population: evidence for multiple
origins. Marine Biology 130:345-352.
·
Bjorndal, K.A., A.B. Bolten, and M.Y.
Chaloupka. 2000. Green turtle somatic growth model: evidence for density dependence. Ecological Applications 10:269-282.
·
Bjorndal, K.A., A.B. Bolten, and M.Y.
Chaloupka. 2003. Survival probability estimates for immature
green turtles, Chelonia mydas, in the
·
Pandolfi, J.M., R.H. Bradbury, E. Sala, T.P.
Hughes, K.A. Bjorndal, R.G. Cooke, D. McArdle, L. McClenachan, M.J.H. Newman,
G. Paredes, R.R. Warner, and J.B.C. Jackson.
2003. Global trajectories of the
long-term decline of coral reef ecosystems.
Science 301:955-958.
·
Bjorndal, K.A., A.B. Bolten, and M.Y.
Chaloupka. 2005. Evaluating trends in abundance of immature
green turtles, Chelonia mydas, in the
Greater Caribbean. Ecological
Applications 15:304-314.
· Moran,
K.L. and K.A. Bjorndal. 2005. Simulated green turtle grazing affects
structure and productivity of seagrass pastures. Marine Ecology Progress Series 305:235-247.
References on sea turtles in
the
Threats to Sea Turtle Survival
Directed Take
Sea
turtles and their eggs are killed for food and other products including leather
and shell.
Fisheries Impacts
Fisheries
impacts include bycatch mortality, habitat destruction from fishing gear (e.g.,
trawls), and food web alterations (e.g., changes in prey and predator
abundances).
Coastal Development
Sea
turtle habitats are degraded and destroyed by coastal development including
both shoreline and seafloor alterations (nesting beach degradation, seafloor
dredging, vessel traffic, construction, and alteration of vegetation).
Pollution and Pathogens
Marine
pollution – including plastics, discarded fishing gear, petroleum by-products,
and other debris – directly impact sea turtles through ingestion and
entanglement. Pollution from lights
disrupts nesting behavior and hatchling orientation, and leads to hatchling
mortality. Chemical pollutants can
weaken turtles’ immune systems, making them susceptible to pathogens.
Global Warming
Global
warming may impact natural sex ratios of hatchlings, will increase the
frequency of extreme weather events, and may increase the likelihood of disease
outbreaks for sea turtles. Global warming
will result in loss of nesting beaches and cause other alterations to critical
sea turtle habitats and basic oceanographic processes.
Aspects of Sea Turtle Biology that are Challenges to
Sea Turtle Conservation
Slow growing and late sexual maturity
Recent studies of
life history characteristics and conservation status of long-lived marine
species, such as sea turtles, have identified life history traits, including
slow growth and late sexual maturity, that increase their vulnerability to
over-exploitation. These characteristics
make accurate monitoring of their populations more difficult and make them slow
to respond to conservation programs.
Region-wide conservation programs
Sea
turtles are widely distributed and have extensive movements throughout ocean
basins. Therefore, sea turtle
conservation requires region-wide cooperation.
For example, juvenile green turtles in the southern
·
Bolten, A.B. and K.A. Bjorndal. 2003.
Green turtles in the
Cryptic life stages
Sea turtles pass through several life
stages, in different habitats, during their lifetimes. The location of some of these life stages are
well known, and sea turtles in those habitats are relatively easily accessible
for conservation programs. The location
of other life stages, however, are not known.
Thus, we cannot assess threats to turtles in these habitats, monitor
populations in those life stages, or implement conservation programs.
This project is funded by the Disney
Wildlife Conservation Fund.
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