Endangered sea turtle makes comeback

By Environmental News Network staff

Kemp's Ridley sea turtles built more than 3,600 nests this year, about 50 percent more than last year's 2,384 nests and the highest number recorded since the late 1960s.

(ENN) -- If you were a turtle, you'd be dancing on the beaches of Mexico's Gulf Coast south of Brownsville, Texas, right now.

Giving scientists hope that the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle can pull itself from the brink of extinction, the sea turtles have crawled up to their traditional nesting spot and built more than 3,600 nests. The total -- more than 1,200 higher than last year's 2,384 nests -- is the highest recorded since the late 1960s.

The 50 percent increase in nests is both a testament to the species' tenacity and longevity, and to the work of government agencies, support from nearby residents, and participation from a variety of other partners in Mexico and the United States.

"Thanks to longstanding partnerships between U.S. and Mexican wildlife agencies and more recent involvement of conservation and industry groups, we're beginning to see real progress in restoring these ancient marine creatures to their rightful place in the Gulf of Mexico," said Nancy Kaufman, regional director of the Fish and Wildlife Service's Southwest Region.

The service has led turtle recovery efforts for the United States since 1978, funding research, monitoring and hatchling release programs.

"We applaud the efforts of all partners working to restore the Kemp's Ridley," said Dr. Rene Marquez, national sea turtle coordinator for the Instituto Nacional de la Pesca in Mexico. "Protection afforded the species by our government, combined with increased research, monitoring and educational efforts, is starting to show significant results."

As of June 29, more than 2,250 nests have been laid at Rancho Nuevo, the species' main nesting beach, about 230 miles south of Brownsville, Texas. Other nesting areas, on a stretch of beach ranging 80 miles north of Tampico, Mexico, with Rancho Nuevo at its center, recorded the following numbers of nests so far this year: Playa Dos 450, La Pesca 41, Tepehuajes 609, Altamira 175, Miramar 11 and Lechugillas 70. A total of 13 nests have also been found this year on Padre Island, Texas, including nine on Padre Island National Seashore, a record for the United States as well.

This year, the National Fisheries Institute, representing the shrimping and commercial fishing industry in Mexico and the United States, constructed a monitoring camp for the turtle at Tepehuajes, a nesting beach about 50 miles north of Rancho Nuevo. The National Marine Fisheries Service has committed funding since 1996 to support enhanced monitoring of nesting activities in Mexico, improvements to a research compound at Rancho Nuevo and expanded educational programs.

In 1947, biologists documented an estimated 40,000 Kemp's Ridleys arriving in one arribada [a term used to denote a mass nesting "arrival"] during the species' nesting season. By the mid-1980s, nesting numbers declined to about 700 a year.

Nesting began early this year, raising a crucial question for sea turtle biologists: Was the early start a sign that the Kemp's Ridley was continuing its recovery, or was it an El Niņo phenomenon related to warmer ocean temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico?

"We've finally been able to answer this question, and it's good news for the turtle," said Pat Burchfield, sea turtle program coordinator for the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. "Even though nesting began in March, it's still under way and could continue until late July, when we hope to reach a total of more than 4,000 nests."

The Kemp's Ridley was listed as endangered throughout its range on Dec. 2, 1970. The decline of the species was primarily due to collection of eggs and killing of adults for meat and other products. The turtle was also subject to high levels of mortality from shrimp trawlers, which inadvertently catch turtles in their nets.

The turtle is the smallest of eight species of sea turtles, with adults generally weighing less than 100 pounds. Females lay 80 to 140 eggs in nests dug in the sand each year. They need a lot of nests and a lot of egg laying because the estimated survival rate from egg to adult is about one percent. The number of juvenile Kemp's Ridleys found stranded each year on coastal beaches remains at a high level.

Recovery efforts for the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle include continued protection of known nesting beaches and adjacent waters, plus further reductions in mortality from incidental catch of turtles in commercial shrimping operations in the U.S. and Mexico.

Biologists want a nesting population of 10,000 turtles a year before they will consider upgrading the status of the species to "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.

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