The Obama administration designated the North Pacific loggerhead sea turtle as endangered under the Endangered Species Act today. Populations of this rare and ancient turtle, which spends much of its time off the coasts of Mexico and Southern California, have declined by at least 80 percent over the past decade. Although loggerhead sea turtles have been listed as threatened since 1978, today’s rule recognizes that some populations are nearing extinction from fisheries bycatch, climate change and marine pollution, including oil spills.
Today’s decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service comes in response to two 2007 legal petitions by the Centre for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network and Oceana for additional protections for the North Pacific and Northwest Atlantic loggerheads. The rule separates loggerheads into nine populations; five are now considered endangered.
The government did not list as endangered Northwest Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles despite the fact that Florida beaches, which host the largest nesting population of loggerheads in the Northwest Atlantic, have seen an almost 40 percent decline in nesting since 1998 (before minor rebounds in recent years).
“The failure to recognize that Northwest Atlantic loggerheads are endangered ignores the massive impacts of the BP oil spill and increasing threats from shrimp-trawl fisheries on this imperilled population,” said Pincetich. “NMFS ignored thousands of coastal residents who cherish these imperiled sea turtles and wanted more protections for them.”
Now that Pacific loggerheads are endangered, significant threats such as longline and gillnet fisheries will be subject to increased scrutiny and may need restrictions to reduce their deadly impacts. North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles nest in Japan, but spend most of their lives along the coast of Mexico and Southern California. Swordfish boats from Hawaii regularly hook and drown loggerhead sea turtles on millions of longline hooks.
While critical habitat is not currently designated for loggerheads, this rule triggers its identification — an important step toward achieving improved protections for key nesting beaches and migratory and feeding habitat in the ocean. Species with protected critical habitat are twice as likely to recover as those without.
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