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A study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says that the so-called "species work" to protect threatened animals and plants in fact helps promote sustainable development in rural areas of countries such as Costa Rica. The report analyses case studies involving threatened species, including marine turtles in Costa Rica. The WWF study explains how poor rural communities are gaining through employment, social empowerment, income generation and access to meat from current conservation programmes. Gross revenues from sea turtle tourism in Tortuguero, Costa Rica in 2002 alone was estimated at 6.7 million dollars, mainly from lodging and transportation services, as well as souvenir sales, and national park and guided tour fees. The research shows significant improvements in the management and conservation of natural resources in the countries where such projects are based. In Tortuguero, Costa Rica, green turtle nesting reportedly increased by an estimated 417 percent between 1971 and 2003. Source: Inter Press Service, 21 March 2006.

On April 28, 2006 the Department of State certified 38 nations and one economy as meeting the requirements set by Section 609 of P.L. 101-162 for continued importation of shrimp into the United On April 28, 2006 the Department of State certified 38 nations and one economy as meeting the requirements set by Section 609 of P.L. 101-162 for continued importation of shrimp into the United States. Section 609 prohibits importation of shrimp and products of shrimp harvested in a manner that may adversely affect sea turtle species. This import prohibition does not apply in cases where the Department of State certifies annually to Congress, not later than May 1, that the government of the harvesting nation has taken certain specific measures to reduce the incidental taking of sea turtles in its shrimp trawl fisheries -- or that the fishing environment of the harvesting nation does not pose a threat to sea turtle species. Such certifications are based in part on verification visits made to countries by teams of experts from the State Department and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. Source: U.S. State Department press release, 2 May 2006.

The tourist boom in post-war Mozambique is threatening a number of endangered marine species with local extinction. South African conservation organisations working in Mozambique are particularly worried about sea turtles and dugongs. Helena Motta, director of the WWF in Mozambique, said while tourism had contributed to the turnaround of the economy, more local people were turning to poaching protected species because some tourists paid money for their products. The WWF had embarked on a nationwide campaign to curb the sale of sea turtle shells in curio shops and stalls. Five of the world’s seven types of sea turtles are found along the Mozambican coastline. Under Mozambican legislation it is illegal to buy marine products as souvenirs or for art collections, but poor enforcement has resulted in an escalation of poaching. The WWF recently launched a “Wanted Alive” programme to educate school children about the dangers to marine species. Source: Mail & Guardian, 9 April 2006.

On March 9th, 2006 the Pacific Fisheries Management Council will take its final vote to allow drift gillnets, also known as "curtains of death," and longlines back into vast protected areas along the Pacific Coast. A statement released by 133 scientists from 24 countries (74 from the U.S.) urges the Council not to proceed with the expansion of these two destructive fishing practices that injure and kill large numbers of sea turtles, marine mammals, seabirds and valuable non-target fish. Source: Sea Turtle Restoration Project press release, 7 March 2006.

Last year was the second best on record for green sea turtle nesting activity in Palm Beach County. There were 2,252 green sea turtle nests recorded in the county during the sea turtle nesting season, March 1 through Oct. 31 2005, according to Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management. Palm Beach County numbers are generally representative of statewide turtle nesting activity, and 2005 was the best year ever recorded for green turtle nests statewide, Carly de Maye, environmental analyst with Palm Beach County, said. Leatherback nesting activity also has been increasing in the county and state, although not as dramatically, she said. The countywide total for leatherback nests last year was 284, including 35 in Palm Beach. For loggerheads, nest numbers in recent years have flattened or even decreased countywide and statewide, she said. Source: Palm Beach Daily News, 8 March 2006.

The removal of raccoons will likely continue on some Florida beaches, despite a scientific paper indicating that the ring-tailed rascals eat ghost crabs, which also eat sea turtle eggs. A paper by former University of Central Florida student Brandon Barton, a 24-year-old graduate working on a doctorate at Yale, challenges the practice of trapping and removing raccoons to protect sea turtle nests. The increase in ghost crabs after raccoons are trapped nullifies the benefit to sea turtles, Barton said. Seasoned biologists find the study interesting but not convincing. The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has removed 25 to 30 raccoons from the beach each year for several decades. Biologists believe this practice has reduced the loss of sea turtle nests from 90 percent to an average of 6 percent. Source: Florida Today, 19 March 2006.

Hawaii-based longline fishing boats cannot fish for swordfish for the rest of 2006, a federal agency announced. Since January the 30 longline vessels fishing for swordfish have met their limit of 17 interactions with threatened loggerhead turtles per fishing year, said a release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service. The cap on interactions, regardless of whether the turtle was killed from being hooked by the longline fishers, was set in 2004 as a condition of allowing Hawaii-based fishers to target swordfish again. Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 23 March 2006.

Wildlife Conservation Society scientists say a "red tide" event off the coast of El Salvador last year directly caused the deaths of some 200 sea turtles. WCS and other organizations released the results of tests conducted in January off the southern coast of El Salvador, to help determine why the ocean-going reptiles were dying in such high numbers. Tissues collected from dead turtles, and analyzed by U.S. biologists and researchers from the Mexican Autonomous University, revealed the culprit: saxitoxin, which is produced by the species of algae and sea plankton that cause the phenomenon known as "red tide," said WCS veterinary pathologist Julie White, who collected tissue samples in January. Source: United Press International, 23 March 2006.

Federal officials in charge of enforcing laws protecting endangered species were slow to get involved last year when property owners in Walton County began erecting sea walls at a frantic pace to protect their homes. Records show that a U.S. F.W.S. worker attended a July 12 board meeting where county commissioners approved the use of an emergency Florida statute that allows construction of temporary sea walls on sea-turtle nesting beaches to protect structures from falling into the sea. But it wasn't until November that the agency held a workshop to educate residents and government officials about requirements under the E.S.A. In January, the agency sent county commissioners a letter notifying them that the sea walls clearly violate federal law by harming threatened sea turtles and their environment. Source: Tallahassee Democrat, 26 March 2006.

Oceana announced it will sue the federal government over funding cuts to NOAA Fisheries Service's Northeast observer program, which monitors how often fishing vessels interact with sea turtles, whales and other threatened or endangered marine mammals. Representatives from Oceana said the funding cuts will drastically reduce the number of days that observers ride on fishing vessels and gather catch data. Oceana sent a letter of intent to Dr. William Hogarth giving the head of the fisheries service a 60-day advance notice of the group's intent to file a lawsuit concerning violations of the Endangered Species Act. In March, AIS Inc. of New Bedford laid off 95 of its 120 fisheries observers after learning the fisheries service wanted it to observe 75 percent fewer sea days than in 2005. Source: The Standard-Times/SouthCoastToday.com, 6 April 2006.

An increase in sea turtle deaths so far this year has scientists concerned that remnants of the deadly 2005 red tide is lingering off the southwest Florida coast. Monitors recorded 76 turtle strandings between Pinellas and Collier counties this year compared to 66 for the same period in 2005. In 2005, red tide is believed to be the cause of 216 sea turtle strandings on beaches from Pasco to Collier counties between July and mid-October. Most of the turtles died. Red tide is a microscopic algae bloom that emits a toxin that can kill fish and cause respiratory illness in humans. Remains of an offshore red tide may be responsible for the higher level of 2006 turtle deaths, said Allen Foley, a wildlife biologist at the Florida Wildlife Research institute in St. Petersburg. Source: Associated Press, 25 April 2006.

Kemp's ridley sea turtles almost became extinct, but 50 nestings have been recorded in Texas and more than 4,000 eggs recovered for incubation this year. Sea turtle preservationists are growing more and more optimistic that a nearly 30-year project to save the ancient species from extinction is paying off. As recently as 1994, preservationists were pleased to see just one Kemp's nesting annually in Texas. Source: UPI, 13 May 2006.

The marine turtle population in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand has fallen to just 1,500, a senior official at the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said. The number of hawksbill, green, ridley and leatherback turtles in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand had fallen drastically over the past decade, said Marine and Coastal Resources Department director-general Maitree Duangsawat. Sea turtles are dying in fishing nets while seaside resorts and tourist activities are destroying their egg-laying grounds, Maitree said. The number of leatherback turtles laying eggs on Phang Nga's Thai Muang beach and Phuket's Mai Khao beach had fallen to just a few over the past two years. Thailand has signed an inter-governmental agreement to conserve marine turtles and their habitat in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian region. Under the agreement, "the year of marine turtle conservation" campaign will be launched today, Maitree said. Source: The Nation, 1 March 2006.

The Sultanate of Oman’s turtle conservation programme has aided in conservation and preservation of two renowned species of turtles, a UN environmentalist said. The two renowned populations of sea turtles (loggerhead and green turtles) have nesting sites on Oman’s southern coastline and they are not only important for this region but also internationally. And Oman’s long-term monitoring programme of the two important species of turtles has helped in conserving these turtles, Douglas J. Hykle, coordinator/ senior adviser, UNEP, said this to Times of Oman, on the sidelines of the Fourth Meeting of the Signatory States to the IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU, an international meet on protection of sea turtles. Source: Times of Oman, 13 March 2006.

Turtle populations in the Andaman Sea are at dire levels, with some species hovering on the brink of extinction because of natural and human causes such as tsunami walls. Wildlife experts estimate that there are less than five leatherback turtles left in an area that once teemed with them, while hawksbill and olive ridley turtles each number less than 100. One of the most important spawning sites for the four main species of Andaman Sea turtles that are critically endangered is the island of Phang Nga. As one of the worst-hit areas in the tsunami disaster, local authorities have now built a 2.5-kilometre-long and one-metre-high concrete wall to try to minimise the effects of any future sea disasters. Instead, this wall is creating a disaster for the turtles. "The area is the last site along the Andaman coast where all four of the Andaman turtle species can be found spawning. The concrete wall is causing them great problems in trying to lay their eggs on the beach," said Songpol Tippayawong, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Thailand's head of marine and coastal resource unit. Source: The Nation, 16 April 2006.

Earthwatch-supported scientists reveal that loggerhead turtle mortality by longline fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea can be reduced by as much as 80 percent if fishermen bait their hooks with mackerel and fish at slightly deeper depths. Scientists Ricardo Sagarminaga van Buiten (Spanish Cetacean Society) and Ana Canadas (Alnitak and University Autonoma of Madrid) spent 30 days working with local fisherman onboard a longline fishing vessel, where they conducted 15 experiments using a normal long line with forty baited hooks. When the fisherman substituted their traditional squid bait for mackerel and fished the hooks slightly deeper, the results revealed a significant reduction in turtle bycatch numbers, while the target swordfish catch remained the same. Source: Earthwatch press release, 2 March 2006.

Uncontrolled tourism and rapid development of Greece’s beaches continue to effect the long-term survival of the largest nesting population of Mediterranean loggerhead turtles on the Greek island of Zakynthos. Some 800–1,100 loggerhead nests can be found in the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, but poor management and lack of government support is threatening the future of this endangered marine turtle. In January 2002, the European Court of Justice declared that Greece had failed to protect the loggerhead turtles in Zakynthos and was in violation of European Union law. WWF and other organizations focused on sea turtle conservation in the Mediterranean believe that the Greek government has not been enforcing a European Union decision to implement effective measures to protect the endangered loggerhead turtles. These issues are being put to the Greek goverment at the annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Conservation & Biology taking place in Crete, Greece from 2-8 April. Source: WWF press release, 5 April 2005.

A plan for the management of traditional fishing for dugong and turtle in the Torres Strait will be boosted with an additional $700,000 in funding, Australian Fisheries Minister Senator Eric Abetz, and Torres Strait Regional Authority Chair John T Kris, announced. Senator Abetz said the $700,000 would be provided over two years from the Government’s Natural Heritage Trust. “The additional funds will be provided through the NHT-funded North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA) Dugong and Marine Turtle Project,” he said. Source: ABC Message Stick, 15 May 2006.