Sea Turtles Need More Protection, Say Groups

Nov. 15, 2007 -- Two environmental groups are asking the Interior Department to declare loggerhead sea turtles that inhabit the Atlantic coast officially endangered, maintaining that tens of thousands of the turtles are killed annually by commercial fishing and because of coastal development.

The loggerhead sea turtle already is classified as "threatened" under the federal Endangered Species Act, but environmentalists say a higher level of protection is needed for the turtles that nest primarily along the southern Atlantic coast and to some extent off the Gulf coast of Florida.

Oceana, a sea life advocacy group, and the Center for Biological Diversity will file a petition with the Interior Department and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Thursday asking that the Western Atlantic Sea Turtle be declared a sub-species and officially endangered.

The designation would provide the turtle and its habitat increased protection under the Endangered Species Act.

"Loggerhead sea turtles in the western Atlantic are in grave peril. ... Their numbers have plummeted to historic lows," says the petition, a copy of which was provided to The Associated Press.

Elizabeth Griffin, a marine wildlife scientist at Oceana, said the biggest threat to the turtle comes from commercial and sport fishing as turtles often are caught in nets, fishing lines and other devices. The petition says turtles also are killed by ingesting refuse from plastic items to balloons.

Griffin said the turtles nest primarily along the Atlantic coast from Florida to the Carolinas but they migrate as far north as New England. It's uncertain how many turtles there are, but a recent government report said tens of thousands of them are killed every year when caught in fishery nets and lines.

Commercial fishing is the single greatest human threat to the turtles but they also have been harmed by coastal development, which has deprived them of beach habitat and disturbed their nesting, the petition says.