Predicting bycatch hotspots for endangered leatherback turtles on longlines in the Pacific Ocean

UNCP Author/Contributor (non-UNCP co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Dr. John Roe, Associate Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP )
Web Site: http://www.uncp.edu/academics/library

Abstract: Fisheries bycatch is a critical source of mortality for rapidly declining populations of leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coriacea. We integrated use-intensity distributions for 135 satellite-tracked adult turtles with longline fishing effort to estimate predicted bycatch risk over space and time in the Pacific Ocean. Areas of predicted bycatch risk did not overlap for eastern and western Pacific nesting populations, warranting their consideration as distinct management units with respect to fisheries bycatch. For western Pacific nesting populations, we identified several areas of high risk in the north and central Pacific, but greatest risk was adjacent to primary nesting beaches in tropical seas of Indo-Pacific islands, largely confined to several exclusive economic zones under the jurisdiction of national authorities. For eastern Pacific nesting populations, we identified moderate risk associated with migrations to nesting beaches, but the greatest risk was in the South Pacific Gyre, a broad pelagic zone outside national waters where management is currently lacking and may prove difficult to implement. Efforts should focus on these predicted hotspots to develop more targeted management approaches to alleviate leatherback bycatch.

Additional Information

Publication
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Vol. 281, No. 1777
Language: English
Date: 2014
Keywords
critically endangered species, fisheries bycatch, marine conservation, marine turtles, migratory pelagic vertebrate, satellite tracking

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