Half of endangered turtles snared each year MarineBio Marine Life Directory

Half of endangered turtles snared each year

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http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn467...

February 2004, NewScientist.com - Loggerhead and leatherback turtles have only a 50 per cent chance of avoiding being accidentally snared by a deep-sea fishing line each year, a new study has revealed.

This rate of capture of the endangered turtles is unsustainable, say the researchers. They are calling for the creation of "ocean wildlife reserves" maintained by tracking the turtles using satellite transmitters.

Longline fishermen hunting tuna or swordfish regularly hook turtles by accident. Although turtles often hunt for food in fishing areas, until now there has been little effort to quantify the problem of so-called "bycatch".

Rebecca Lewison, Sloan Freeman and Larry Crowder of Duke University Marine Laboratory performed a survey of international turtle bycatch reports. They estimate that more than 200,000 loggerheads and 50,000 leatherbacks were accidentally caught in fishing gear worldwide during 2000...

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