Opinions expressedherein are those of the individual authors and do not necessar- ily representthe views of the TexasARM UniversitySea Grant College Program or the National SeaGrant Program.While specificproducts have been identified by namein various papers,this doesnot imply endorsementby the publishersor the sponsors.
$20.00 TAMU-SG-89-1 05 Copies available from: 500 August 1989 Sca Grant College Program NA85AA-D-SG128 Texas ARM University A/I-I P.O. Box 1675 Galveston, Tex. 77553-1675 Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Biology, Conservation and Management
~88
Edited and updated by Charles W. Caillouet, Jr. National Marine Fisheries Service and Andre M. Landry, Jr. Texas A&M University at Galveston
NATIONALSEA GRANT DEPOSITORY PELLLIBRARY BUILDING TAMU-~9 I05 URI,NARRAGANSETT BAYCAMPUS August 7989 NARRAGANSETI, R I02882
Publicationof this documentpartially supportedby Institutional GrantNo. NA85AA-D-SGI28to the TexasARM UniversitySea Grant CollegeProgram by the NationalSea Grant Program,National Oceanicand AtmosphericAdministration, Department of Commerce. jbr Carole Hoover Allen and HEART for dedicatedefforts tmuard Kemp'sridley sea turtle conservation Table of Conteuts
.v Preface CharlesW. Caillouet,jr. and Andre M. Landry, Jr, Acknowledgements. vl SessionI -Historical Perspective, Trends and Opportunities inKemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Conservation and Management Internationalefforts in theconservation and management of Kemp's ridley sea turtle Lepidochelyskempi! ...... 1 jack B. Woody Mexico'scontribution to Kemp'sridley sea turtle recovery ..4 ReneMarquez Millan, Daniel Rios Olmeda, Jose Manuel Sanchez P.and juan Diaz TheNational Park Service's role in theintroduction of Kemp'sridley sea turtle 7 Milford R, Fletcher TheNational Marine Fisheries Service's Kemp's ridley sea turtle research and management .. ... ,...... 10 plan:progress and needs Charles A. Oravetz Questions and Answers. 14 S'essionII - Statusof Kemp'sRidley Sea Turtle Population Nestingpopulation and production ofhatchlings of Kemp's ridley sea turtle at Rancho Nuevo, ...... . Tamaulipas, Mexico ReneMarquez Millan, Aristoteles Villanueva O. and Patrick M, Burchfield Questions and Answers .. 20 SessionIII - Publicand Private Participation in Kemp'sRidley SeaTurt! e Conservation Promotingconservation ofKemp's ridley sea turtle through pub}ic education . 22 Carole H. Allen and Albert L. Barr Therole of SeaTurtle Incorporated in Kemp's ridley sea turtle conservation and public awareness .. ,...... 25 Ila M. Loetscher Fishingindustry perspective on conservationand management of sea turtles Ralph Rayburn TED- TrawlingEfficiency Device Turtle Excluder Device!: promoting its use 30 Wilber R. Seidel and Charles A. Oravetz TrawlingEfficiency Device acceptance anduse by Louisiana commercial shrilnpers 33 Paul D, Coreil Sea-AramaMarineworld and Kemp's ridley sea turtle: a lookinto thefuture 36 JohnM. Kerivan Questionsand Answers ~ """. ".~ ... -.....,..... ..40 SessionIV - Hazardsto and Strandingsof Kemp'sRidley Sea Turtle Trash,debris and human activities: potential hazards at seaand obstacles to, 42 Kemp'sridley seaturtle nesting AnthonyF. Amos Kemp'sridley sea turtle strandings along the Texas coast, 1983-19S5 .43 Robert G. Whistler Recentstrandings of seaturtles, cetaceans and birds in thevicinity of MustangIsland, Texas,...,..... ,... 51 Anthony F. Amos Theeffects of petroleumon sea turtles: applicability to Kemp'sridley. 52 Peter L. Lutz and Molly Lutcavage TheCorpus Christi Bay Landmass Project: an example of NMFS'role in protectingmarine turtles ...... 55 via Section 7 of the Endangered SpeciesAct Paul W. Raymond Questions and Answers ...... .. 65 SessionV - Kemp'sRidley Sea Turtle HeadStart Research Standardoperating procedures for collectingKelnp's ridley sea turtle eggs for theHead Start Project ...... 67 PatrickM. Burchf1eldand F, jamesFoley Beachtemperature versus polystyrene foam box temperature in incubation of Kemp'sridley ...... 71 sea turtle eggs RobertE. King
111 predictedsex ratios from theInternational Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Head Start Research project ...... 77 ThaneR. Wibbels,Yuki A. Morris,David W. Owens, Gayle A. Dienberg,Julia Noell, JorgeK. Leong,Robert E. King andRend Marquez Millan An analysisof unhatchedKemp's ridley seaturtle eggs...... 82 DonnaJ. Shaverand Allen H. Chancy A further evaluationof imprinting in Kemp'sridley seaturtle .. ,.... ....,....90 Mark A. Grassman and David W. Owens Kemp'sridley seaturtle headstart operations of theNMFS SEFC Galveston Laboratory 96 ClarkT. Fontaine,Theodore D. Williams,Sharon A. Manzellaand Charles W. Caillouet,Jr, Questions and Answers ...,, ...... ...... ,...... ...... ,...... ,111 SessionVI - Trackingand Distribution of Kemp'sRidley Sea Turtle Statusof satellitetracking of Kemp'sridley seaturtles 112 John O. Mysingand Thomas M. Vanselous Distributionof juvenileand subadult Kemp's ridley seaturtles: preliminary results ...... ,....., 1 '16 from the 1984-1987surveys Lang H. Ogren Distribution,growth and survival of headstarted, tagged and released Kemp's ridley seaturtles ...... ,. .124 Lepidochelyskempi! from year-classes1978-'1 983 ClarkT. Fontaine, Sharon A. Manzella, Theodore D. William, Richard M. Harrisand William J. Browning Distributionand abundance of Kemp'sridley sea turtle, Lepidochelys kenrpi, in ChesapeakeBay ...... ..... 145 and nearbycoastal waters RichardA. Byles Dermatoglyphicpatterns on Kemp'sridley sea turtle flippers:can they be used to identifyindividuals? ...... 146 CharlesW. Caillouet,Jr,, DickieB. Revera,Marcel j. Duronsletand John Brucks Questionsand Answers 151 SessionVII - Kemp'sRidley Sea Turtle Data Base Management Captive-rearedKemp's ridley seaturtle database management , ,152 Dennis B, Koi Marineturtle data base management: National Marine Fisheries Service - Miami Laboratory ...,...... ,...... .....153 Barbara A, Schroeder SessionVIII - BiologicalInvestigations and Captive Breeding of Kemp'sRidley Sea Turtle Evolutionaryrelationships, osteology, morphology and zoogeography of Kemp's ridley sea turtle ...... 157 Peter C. H. Pritchard Feeding,growth rate and survival of the1984 year-class of Kemp's ridley sea turtles Lepidochelys kempi! ....165 rearedin captivity CharlesW.Caillouet, Jr.,Sharon A,Manzella, Clark T. Fontaine, Theodore D.Williams, Marty G, Tyree and Dennis B. Koi Healthcare and diseases of captive-reared loggerhead and Kemp's ridley sea turtles 178 jorgeK, Leong,David L. Smith,Dickie B, Revera, Lt. John C. Clary I, DonahlH. Lewis,Janis L. Scott and Anthony R. DiNuzzo Carapacialscute variation in Kemp'sridley sea turtle Lepidochelyskempi! hatchlings and juveniles ...... ,202 RodericB. Mast and john L. Carr Morphometryof captive-rearedKemp's ridley seaturtles 220 AndreM, Landry,Jr, A reporton attempts to breed Kemp's ridley sea turtle, Lepidochelys kerupi, in captivity... 232 Steven R. Rabalais, David W. Owens and Peter Thomas Attemptsat breedingKemp's ridley seaturtles at MiamiSeaquarium . 233 Timothy B, Bentley Captiverearing and breeding Kemp's ridley sea turtle at CaymanTurtle Farm 983! Ltd...... 237 JamesR, Wood and Fern E. Wood Questions and Answers 241 SessionIX - TheFuture for Kemp'sRidley Sea Turtle PanelDiscussion 244 Questionsand Answers 251 Appendix. -- -...... 258
Acknow ledgetnents
First International Symposium on Kernp's Ridley SeaTurtle Biology,Conservation and Management
Program; CharlesW. Caiiiouet,Jr. and Andre M. Landry,Jr Co-Chairmen Welcome: JaniceR. CoggeshaG,William H. Claytonand Edward F. Klirna Regt'strafionand Mailing: RhondaS. Elizondo,Sonia L. Ra!Is and Kelly Shoup Pubffcif y: JohnD. Merritt, CaroleH. Allen, Dana!d E.Pitts, Jr, and Dickie B. Revera Social Events: Carole H. Allen and Judith Wern Audio-Visual: John D. Mcrritt and JaneScheidler Refreshments: Sonia L. RaGsand JoNell Matthews Transportation: Donald E. Pitts, Jr., Kerry Stanleyand JamesWeikum SeaTurf le Head Start Research Facility Tour: Clark T. Fontaine, Theodore D. Williatr s and Sharon A, Manzella Housing: RandyCarr and JoNellMatthews Phofography: Daniel Patlan and John D. Merritt ProgramPrinting: William Gomez ProceedingsTyping: ClaraJ. Surberand LeslyeK. Vaught ProgramTyping: Beatrice W, Richardson and Rhonda S. Elizondo SessionCon veners: Edward F, Klima I!, JackB. Woody II!, CharlesA. Oravetz III!, Frank W. Judd IV!, PeterC.H. Pritchard V!, David B.Bowman VI!, StevenC. Rabalais VII!, RossWitham VIII! and Edward F. KIima IX! Panel Members: ReneMarq uez Millan, Charles A. Oravetz,Jack B. Woody, Milford R.Fletcher, CaroleH. Allen,Peter C. H. Pritchardanal Ralph Rayburn S yrnposiumSponsors: U.S.Department of Commcrce,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,National Marine Fishcrics Service, Southeast Fisheries Cen- ter,Galveston Laboratory and Texas ARM University at Galveston,Depart- ment of MarineBiology Confribufors HEART HelpEndangered Animals-Riley Turtles!;EXXON Houston,Tex.! and the Harris L. and Elira KempncrFoundation Beveragesand Snacks Mixer: Ila Loetscher,Sea Turtle Incorporated, South Padre Island, Tex. TexasStyle Barbecue and Tour: Sea-AramaMarineworld, Galveston,Tex. Beveragesand SeafoodDinner: EarlWayne Israel, The LittleShrimp Boat Restaurantand Bar, Galveston, Tex. Beverageand Pastry Breaks; HEART, Houston, Tex. within any of the individual agencies,This programhas gone so smoothlybecause we havekept it at the operational level, and we believein what we are doing without regard to turf or other responsibilities,Often the more people involved in a program, the less is accomplished. Cooperation among U.S. agencies would be of little value if Mexico were not cooperative, for the Mexican participantsare key players,not only to the current programbut alsobecause they are responsiblefor the fate of Kemp'sridley. It is Mexicothat permitted the U.S.to initiate the headstart project,and it is Mexicothat will or will not allow it to continue.I want to emphasizethis point, becausethere is a tendencyon the part of some"gringos" to overlook this fact. Fortunately,Mexico has been willing to cooperate,and has graciouslyaccepted on-the-beach assistancefrom the FWSin exchangefor permit ting removal and export of 20 to 30 clutches of eggs 000 to 3+00 eggs! annually and specific joint research efforts. Theobjectives of the Kemp'sridley recoveryprogram for the past11 years are few and simple,They are,in order of priority: 1. protect the Rancho Nuevo nesting beach and adult females, and maxim ize the hatch; 2. collectand transfer2,000 to 3,000viable eggsannually to the U.S.for hatchingand imprinting at PINS; 3. head start as many hatchlingsas possible;and 4. conductappropriate research and managementprojects aimed at understandingthe speciesand contributing to improved management leading to population recovery. The goalsare recoveryof the speciesand establishmentof a secondnesting populahon at PINS,These objectives and goalsare fairly clearand straightforward,However, to accomplishthem in the real world is not that simple.It is difficult for outsidersto imaginethe red tape,logistical problems, and humanblunders encountered from year to year,Several examples will serveto enlighten.Our first year,1978, was a politicaldisaster, A U,S,Coast Guard, twin- engine Convair 440 and a largehelicopter were seized,and 15 sailors, a NMFS specialagent, and I were held for a few days in Tampicoby Mexicanmilitary authorities. Evidently this occurredbecause the CoastGuard did not have clearancethrough the appropriateMexican agencies to enterMexico and land suchmilitary-like aircraft there.The CoastGuard wasto fly out of Mexicowith the eggs.This detentionof U,S.a ircraft and personnelcreated somewhat of aninternational incident that involved our StateDepartment and a numberof otherMexican and U,S. agencies, includingtop level administrators in theDepartment of theInterior. On another occasion, there occurred an oversight regardingU,S. endangered species permits, and a seniorNMFS biologist at the SoutheastFisheries Center's 5EFC! GalvestonLaboratory was under investigationby NMFSenforcement agents for havingKemp's ridley hatchlings in possessionwithout having appropriatepermits on his person.As a result,he faceddisciplinary or legal actionsfor violationof theEndangered Species Act. The problem in thiscase was not some dastardly deed that adversely affected theridley, but rathera questionof nothaving followed the letter of federalperuuts, Technically there may have been a permitviolation, but thereobviously was no harmful intent. Certainly, whatever was being done by thebiologist representedefforts to benefit Kernp'sridley, A few yearsago the NMFSSEFC's Galveston Laboratory faced termination of fundingand closure,with the consequenceof discontinuing head starting. Frantic efforts were taken to find other agendesor institutions to continuehead starting because the hatchlings were already in theU.S. In government,this is thetype of situationin whichsupporters look at their "holecards" and call in favors.As a result,the news media, selected Congressional membersandanumber ofother entities made their desires known,and the funding wasrestomd. Now, funding appears more secure than ever, Everyyear, we have major and minor problems, which are to beexpected in a programof thisnature, We have a bureaucracyand Mexico has a bureaucracy,Both are fraught with redtape and breakdowns in in ternaland external communications.Unfortunately, Mexico is strugglingwith seriouseconomic problems affecting the wholenation. Needlessto say,the Mexican fisheries people Instituto Nacional de la Pesca,INP! involved in carryingout thefield projectat Rancho Nuevo have had to face and overcome many problems. Rend Mirquez can provide examples of what heand other Mexican participants have had to overcometo keepthis important recovery program going. Thenesting beach at RanchoNuevo and the turtles coming ashore to nestare relatively secure under the present managementprogram run by Mexicowith assistancefrom FWS.I seethis program continuing, and the FWS will continueto provideassistance solong as Mexico wishes. Not onlydoes this help Mexico during a periodof austerity, but it hasprovided an excellentopportunity for non-Mexicansto gain uniqueexperiences in a truly integrated internationalprogram, U,S,agencies involved in this programplan to continuepresent efforts with the concurrenceof Mexico.Interest and supportofprivate individuals and organizations havebeen of majorsignificance in maintainingthese efforts. Without thissupport, we couldnot haveweathered some of therough spots encountered over the years. Wehave no indication that the species has made any real gains in survival,even with thenesting beach secured and experimental efforts in place to establish a second nesting colony through head starting, Although factors that historicallyled to the majordecline of the specieshave been overcome by Mexico,they havebeen replaced by others involving the U.S. to a much greater degree.Little progress hasbeen made toward correcting those clearly identified conditions that continue to limit Kemp's ridley recovery, I could be lesscritical if we were dealing with a speciesthat had a widerrange or one for which we werestill searchingto identify factorslimiting recoveryor determininghow to overcome such factors. That is not the casewith Kemp's ridlcy. Under the cooperative program, FWS and NPS have eachspent close to $600,000and NMFS somewherein excessof $2 million to identify the causesof the continued decline and to reverse it. The primary limiting factor keeping the speciesdepressed in recent years is the incidental captureof turtlesby US, and Mexicanshrimp trawlers,There will be no progresstoward recoveryuntil the problem of incidentaltake by shrimpersis corrected.In fact,we may scefurther decreasesin the numberof turtles nesting annually. The shrimping industry and government agencies are aware of the problem, and corrective mechanisms are available,How fastthe industry will moveto overcomethis problemremains to be demonstrated.The FWS and others werelcd by shrimpindustry representativesto believethat this problemwould be solvedon a voluntaryand timely basis, with the support of government agencies,rather than requiring an adversarial climate. Regardless,significant progress must occur within the very near future if Kemp's ridley is to avoid extinction. There have been a number of researchefforts undertaken in and out of Mexico by the combined Mexican and U.S. parhcipants,apart from the primary managementproject at the nestingbeach, the transferof eggs,and headstarting in the U.S. Some of this work has been somewhat esoteric, such as de[err»ining hatchling scute counts and variations, More practical work has been aimed at ensuring survival and production, such as determining optimum sand moisturelevels for maximum hatch and determiningincubation temperaturesrequired for obtaining desiredsex ratiosin clutchesto be transplanted,The NMFS SEFC Galveston Laboratory has carried out researchon identification and treatmentof diseasesand to solve other problemsassociated with maintaining ridleys in captivity. Initial experimentswith satellitetracking havebeen completed, and we are now in the processof further refinementsin transmitterpackage design in anticipationof expandinga jointU,S.-Mexico field projectduring the nestingseason. Mexicanturtle biologistshave developed a techniquethat apparentlygreat1y simplifies determination of the sexof hatchlings,making unnecessarythe costly and laborioushistological methods previously required.Cooperative verification and comparisonof thesetechniques are underway in Mexico,Canada, and the U.S, Mexico and FWS have encouragedresearch having direct managementbenehts to the species,and FWS will continueto help theseefforts, making its resourcesavailable to the greatestextent possible, Research of lessdirect or obviousbenefit is not discouraged,but we may not alwaysbe able to provide all the support desired,including appropriatepermits, if someof the work must be done in Mexicoby a foreigner. Mexicohas requested that FWSserve as the clearinghousefor all requestsby non-Mexicanswho wish to visit or work on the RanchoNuevo nesting beach. This includesresearchers, news media, and any other entity.Our recommendationson each request are transmitted to Mexicofor a finaldecision, This is donefor a coupleof reasons. Theprimary one is that the turtle camp is finite,and its resources as well as the site itself are not capable of sustaining extrapersonnel without prior notificationand arrangementsby both the FWSand Mexico.Food, water and shelter are often very limited as are transportationand sanitaryfacilities. Fromthe inception of theU.S,-Mexico cooperative Kemp's ridley re overyprogram in 1978through 1987, there havebeen approximately 776500 eggs protected, 486,000 hatchlings relcascd at RanchoNuevo, 12,000eggs transferredto PINS,and 12,400head started turtles released. A numberof ridleysof variousyear-classes also are beingmaintained at marineaquaria in the U,S,In addition,Cayman Turtle Farm CTF!is maintainingabout 30 Kemp'sridleys of the1979 and 1980 yearwlasscs. Two of theseanimals nested at CTFin 1984,but thehatch was poor andno hatchlingssurvived. This was the first timethe species had nested in captivity,In 1986and 1987,nestings amongthe captive Kemp's ridleys at CTFproduced hundreds of viablehatchlings, and about 160 of thelatter year- classwere exported to the NMFSSEFC's Galveston Laboratory for headstarting. These events demonstrate successfulreproduction among these animals under captive conditions, However, it shouldnot be expectedthat captive propagationwill ever becomea significant supplementto the wild population. Various other research projectsare underway or havebeen completed. More will be initiated. Thepast 11-year coopera tive effort nationallyand internationally! is unique in government.Although we cannot point to a population increasein the speciesof concern,I think the efforts of Mexico and the U.S. have been instrumentalin reducingthe rate of furtherdecline in thepopulation. We can now focusattention on recognized limitingfactors and on increasing our efforts to overcomethese. lf thiscan be done, there is still hopetha t theKemp's ridley will begin the recoveryfor which we all havehoped and worked.
of a captivebrood stockof Kemp'sridley, suchas that at theCayman Turtle Farm,Grand Cayman, BWI, hasrecently been forthcoming. Fisheries Administration The following will reviewbriefly the moreimportant actions taken by the Mexicangovernment after discoveryof the RanchoNuevo nestingbeach by Mr. AndresHerrera, an engineerand sportfishermanfrom Tampico,Mexico Carr, 1963;Hildebrand, 1963!: 1. The TablaGeneral de Vedas,published in 1956,decreed general closed seasons for commercialfisheries but madeno specialmention of Kemp'sridley, It includeda prohibitionon harvestingsea turtle eggs, 2. Circular 63, published on October2, 1963,by the DireccionGeneral de Pesca,included an experimental regulationprohibiting harvest of seaturtle eggsbetween October and March and a closedseason on harvesting them betweenApril and September Direccion General de Pesca,1963!. 3. Circular 104,published on November21, 1964,by the sameoffice, added two monthsto the prohibition on harvestof seaturtle eggsfrom beaches i e.,during Marchthrough October!,but allowed open commerce from Novemberthrough February for eggsremoved from femalescaught during thefishing season from September 1 to April 30 DireccionGeneral de Pesca,1964!, There was no referenceto Kemp'sridley. 4. Circular9, dated April 27,1965, included a decreeof total prohibitionon commercializationof eggshem nests or from sacrificed females,and established for the first time a closedseason on catch of Kemp's ridley between May 1 andAugust 31 DireccionGeneral de Pesca,1965!. No size regulationwas included. 5. Communicacion15, "Disposiciones vigentes sobre Vedas y TamahosMinimos de Captura- 1967,"dealt with the closedseason for seaturtle catchand minimum sizelimits for the year 1967 DireccionGeneral de Pesca, 1967!,It confirmedthe former dispositions,and they w~ in forceuntil 1971. 6. A total closedseason for all seaturtles and their parts was declaredfrom June1, 1971,to December31, 1972. 7. Seaturtle catch was reinitia ted on September1,1973,but only for fishing cooperatives,after the "Diario Ofidal" dated July 13, 1973 Departamentode Pesca,1973!, A total prohibition on catch of Kemp's ridley and leatherbacksea turtles Dermochelyscoriacea! was established, which is in forceto this day. A total prohibition on commerceof any kind involving seaturtle eggsalso was established. 8, TheDecree of the "Zonade Refugioy deVeda para la Proteccionde la TortugaLora Marina Lepidochelyskepi" was publishedon July 4, 1977 Departamentode Pesca,1977!. It explainedregulations protecting Kemp's ridley seaturtle on its unique nestingbeach named Rancho Nucvo, municipality of Aldama, in the Stateof Tamaulipas, Mexico. 9. A last complementary disposition was prohibition of trawling offshore of the nesting beachbetween Barra del Tordo and Barra de Ostionales during the nesting seasonfrom April to August. Historical Review of the Kernp's Ridley Turtle Program After discoveryof theRancho Nuevo nes ting beachwas announced by Hildebrand 963! andCarr 963!,attention was drawn to this speciesand its conservation, One of the pioneers in Kemp's ridley conservation efforts was Mr, Dearl Adams of Brownsville, Tex, He made several visits to Barra Coma, the most accessible beach near Barra del Tordo's sport fishing camp, and translocated several thousand eggs to Padre Island, Tex. see Table 1 in Mdrquez, Vilianueva and Burchfield, 1989!,but with poor incubation success.These represented the first trials to protect and enhance the population. The first Mexican turtle camp was occupied in 1966by technicians of the Direccion General de Pesca.From that time on, the program has remained in operation despite logistical and economic problems during 1969to 1971.In the first period,1966to 1977,more than 250,000 hatcMings were released,ormore than 22 000 per year. Since 19'78,with the increased effort associatedwith the U.S.-Mexico jo Int working arrangement, more than 600,000 hatchlings have been released at Rancho Nuevo, or around 50,000per year. At the same time, several studies were undertakensuch as taggingof femaleadults, which provided biologicalinformation including fecundity,breeding cycle,total mortality, recruitment,etc. Mhrquez,Villanueva and S8nchez,1982!. A diagnosisof the populationwas approximated from these studies. The Kemp's ridley program at RanchoNuevo is consideredin Mexico as a classicsea turtle researchand conservation work, and it is used as a training camp for national and foreign students. At the time the first Rancho Nuevo turtle camp was established, the condition of the Kemp's ridley population was worse than that of any other seaturtle species,Recruitment to the adult populationhad decreasedto nearzero between 'i950 at least!and 1965 P. C, H, Pritchard,Florida Audubon Society,personal communication; Mirquez, 1984!,and the meanage of the nestingfemales appeared to be more than 15 years, The situation improved after 1966 with beachprotection, but the adultpopulation continued to decreaseuntil new recruits to thenesting beach appeared after reaching the age of maturity.In themeantime, natural mortality, contamination, debris and incidental catch of seaturtles by shrimp trawlersand other fishing gear took their tolls. From 1966 to 1977,additions to theadult population through re- cruitmentwere offsetby mortality from all causesbecause the annual nesting population size had stabilized at a low level.Were there no continued nega tive factors reducing survival of the population, we would expect that the number ofnesters should increase, because the high hatch ra te at Rancho Nuevo has been repeated from 1978 to the present, andhas been reinforced by additions to the population atlarge by head starting and release ofthousands ofyearlings during that time. Proposalsfor Future Action The following actionsare proposedfor the future: I. continuethe joint U.S.-Mexicoefforts for five moreyears after the first 10-yearperiod ending in 1988; 2. reduceincidental catch of Kemp'sridley, especially that associated with shrunp trawling; 3. developinformation ata popularlevel about efforts to reducemortality and mcrease population size of Kemp's ridley and disseminateit widely; 4, continuebiologicalresearch on sex ratios, the relationship between incubation temperature and survival rates, andthe monitoring of temperatureof nestsand the beach during the entire season; 5. continuesupport of imprintingand head starting work at Padre Island and Galveston, Tex., respectively; 6. continuethe education program for students,especially those of theUniversidad del Noreste; 7. conductbathymetric work in front of the RanchoNuevo beach;and 8. if possible,increase the effort to study migration behavior of juveniles and adults through the use of remote sensors. AcknOwledge1nents The authorswish to expresstheir thanksto the Mexicanand U,S.fisheries authorities for their assistanceand supportin thecontinuation of the work, Heartily we acknowledge thefriendship of the people of Rancho Nuevo and itsvalue in helping solve day-to-day problems inthe turtle camp, We also wish to express our deep gratitude toIng. ErnestoCorripio C., Director of the Cen tro Regional de Investigaciones Pesquera deTampico, for his assistance in the logisticalwork, to theDirector and students of theEscue'la de Biologia of theUniversidad del Noreste, and to theU.S. studentvolunteers for theirenthusiastic work on thebeach and at thecamp. And lastbut not least,we thankthe DelegadoFederal de Pesca and his staff, and the Mexican Navy personnel for their vigilance during each season. Literature Cited Carr,A. 1963. Panspecific reproductive convergence in Lr7ridodrelys kenrpi. Ergebnisse derBiologic 26:298-303. DepartamentodePesca, 1973. Acuerdo sobre veda y explotaciondetortugas marinas. Diario Oficial de la Federacion, 13July 1973. . 1977.Acuerdo que establece la zona de refugio y vedapara la proteccionde la tortugaIora. Diario Oficial de la Federacion,4 July1977. DireccionGeneral de Pesca.1956. Tabla general de vedas. 1 p. , 'I963.Circular No. 63,19 October 1963. 2 p. . 1964.Circular No, 104,21 November1964. 2 p. . '1965.Circular No, 9, 27 April 1965.3 p, .1967.Ley de pesca de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Comision Naciona! Consultiva de Pesca, 376 p. Hildebrand,H.H. 1963. Hallazgo del area de anidacidn dela tortuga marina "Iora," Lepi«ncireiys kempi Garrnan!, enla costa occidental dcl Golfo de Mexico. Ciencia Mexico! 22 !:105-112. MarquezM,R. 1984. 4.3 Kemp's ridiey turtle., 4.3.1 Kemp's ridley turtle overview ofbiology, p.96-100. Err:Bacon, P.,F. Berry, K.Bjorndal, H.Hirth, L. Ogren and M. Weber Editors!, Proceedings ofthe Western Atb n tieTurtle Symposium, Volume I, 306 p. MarquezM.,R., A. Villanueva O.and P. M. Burchfield. 1989, Nesting population andproduction ofhatchlings ofKemp's ridley seaturtle at RanchoNuevo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. This volume! MarquezM., R,, A. Villanueva O. and M. Sanchez P.1982. The population ofthe Kemp's ridley sea turtle in theGulf of Mcxico- Lepidochelyskernpii, p, 159-164. In:Bjorndal, K,A. Editor!,Biology and Conservation ofSea Turtles, Smithsonian Institution Press,Washington, D,C., 583 p. The National Park Service's Role in the Introduction of Kelp's Ridley SeaTurtle Milford R. Fletcher'
TheNational Park Service has been involved since 1978 in a multi-agencyeffortto establish a nesting population ofKemp's ridleysea turtleat Padre Island National Seashore nearCorpus Christi, Tex. The procedures callfor turtle eggs tobe trartsported frorrtRancho Nuevo inMexico toPadre Island, cohere theeggs arehatched inpolystyrene foamboxes. Thehatchlings arethen releasedonthe beach tomake their uray to the surf. Exposure tothe beach and surf is assumed toimprint hatchlings toPadre Island astheir natal beach. Upon enteri ng the surf, hatchlings arecaptured and transferred tothe National Marine Fisheries Service, SoutheastFisheries Center's Laboratory in Galveston,Tex. Imprintingisa phenomenonthathas been documented in birdsand fish, but the process ishypothesized tobe among the mechanismsresponsiblefor seaturtles returning tonest atnatal beaches. Thisisthe11th year ofthe recovery program,and slightly morethan 17,000 hatchling turtles have beert imprinted atPadre Islartd todate. There have been no documented returns ofhead startedturtles to Padreisland National Seashore, TheNational Park Service has been involved since 1978 in a multi-agencyeffor t toestablish a nestingpopulation ofKemp's ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kernpi!at Padre Island National Seashore PINS! near Corpus Christi, Tex. The project,involving the Fish and Wildlife Service FWS!, the National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS!, theTexas Parks andWildlife Department TPWD!, the Instituto Nacional de la Pesca INP! of Mexico, and the National Park Service NPS!,has as its primary objective theestablishment ofa new nesting colony of Kemp's ridley sea turtles on a protected beachin theUnited States. The history and decline of theKemp's ridley is documentedand discussed elsewhere in theseproceedings, somy remarks will be confined tothe role of the National Park Service atPadre Island. Kemp'sr idley isthe smallest ofthe sea turtles and probably the mos t endangered.Sofar as is known, the only extant nestingconcentration occurs on an approximately 20-km stretch of beach near Rancho Nuevo in Mexico, although Kemp'sridleys have been sporadic nesters on Padre Island and elsewhere for manyyears. Underthe terms of theoriginal agreement, the NPS was to becomeinvolved in four majoractivities: 1. receivingeggs from Mexico under permits from TPWD and RVS; 2. providingpersonnel and facilities to incubatethe eggs until theyhatched; 3. imprintinghatchling turtles to thePadre Island beach; and 4. transferringimprinted hatchlings tothe NMFS Southeast Fisheries Center's SEFC! Galveston Laboratory for head starting. Theprocess isfairly straightforward, First, polystyrene foam boxes are filled with moist sand from Padre Island and transportedto the Rancho Nuevo beach. Eggs are collected from laying females at RanchoNuevo by catchingthem in plasticbags as they are laid. Eggs gathered in thisway are promptly carried to polystyrene foam boxes and packed into PadreIsland sand. Eggs, sand, and boxes are then transferred from Mexico to Padreisland where the eggs are held m a hatcheryuntil they hatch, Thefirst part, receiving the eggs and moving them to Padre Island, has gone smoothly over the years with only a fewlogistical problems. The NPS, TPWD and FWS all have been involved in oneway or another in transportingeggs toPadre Island. Sometimes eggs havebeen flown to the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station; at other times, to the Corpus ChristiAirport; and several times, directly to the Padre Island National Seashore near the hatchery facility. Thesecond part, hatching the eggs, is very labor intensive. Upon amva1 at Padre Island, boxes containing the eggs aretransferred toa speciallyconstructed hatchery facility. Multi-channel, temperature probes record temperatures hourlyat three elevations in the incubation boxes, and large quantities ofdata are generated and synthesized. Sand moistureand presence-absence of molds or fungiare monitored daily. The NPS staff at Padre Island computerizes the datarecords to facilitatetheir evaluation,Evidence is now mountingthat sexof Kemp'sridley hatchlingsis determinedbythe tempera ture at which eggs are held during a certainphase of theirdevelopment Shaver etal., 1988!.By artificially elevating incubation temperatures, weare now producing a great preponderance of females. Implicationsof thisconcept are profound,
U.S.Departrrrent of theinterior, Rational Park Service Thethird part that NPS plays is imprinting hatchlings, Sea turtles, like salmon,are thought to imprinton their natal surroundings.Something in theirphysical environment acts to imprintthe anima 1s. Imprinting is a phenomenonthat isbetter known in birdsand certain fishes than in seaturtles, but theprocess is assumed to be similar. There are thine classicalcomponents of imprinting that are thought to be important in this project, First, it occursat an early age. Precocialbirds, like ducks and chickens, imprint on the largest moving object they see after hatching. This is usually theirmother, but if themo ther is absent and the young are exposed toa movingballoon or a toy train during this critical period,they instead will form a strongattachment tosuch objects and retain that attachment asan adult, Interestingly enough,the more difficult the moving object isto follow, the stronger isimprinting. This may have a parallelin the difficultywith whichhatchling sea turtles dig theirway out of thenest and traverse down the beach to thesea. Thesecond factor of imprinting isthat it occursina relativelyshort time. Mallard ducks, for example, imprint best somewherebetween 13 and I6 hoursafter hatching. Chicks do not follow a movi~gobject when they are a fewhours oldor when they are several days old, but only during a fairlyshort period of time.Gosslings, forexample, when hatchedin anincubator, readily imprint on the first large object they sec, often a human. Thethird factor is that the attachment ispermanent and is retained from the tinic of imprinting to adulthood. Pacific salmoneggs and fry imprint on the chemical smell and taste of the water in which they hatch. After a seajourney of severalyears they mature, and the adult salmon unerringly return to the same stream they hatched inyears earlier, Onecompelling demonstration of this is afforded by tagged salmon that return to a fishhatchery asadults, Anyof these factors could contribute toturtles returning totheir natal beaches tonest, The reasoning isas follows. First,adult female turtles have the ability to find the nesting beach with great accuracy after several years at sea. In thecase of the Rancho Nuevo beach, turtles nest along a stretchapproximately 20km long, Why only this particular stretchofbeach, when there are thousands ofkilometers ofbeach available? Somehow, after more than seven years at sea,females, and evidently males, are able to locatethis unique stretch of beach and reproduce, Second, the experiencewith the natal beach is limited. Embryos develop within approximat'ly 60 days after eggs are laid. After thistime, hatchlings digtheir way out of the nest, scurry down the beach, and enter the surf, thus disappearing into thesea for the next few years. The time from hatching to entering the sea may range from minutes to a fewhours. Somethinghappens tothe embryonic orha tchling turtles during these 60 days or so to permanently imprint them on thegeographic location or other characteristics ofthe beach. We feel that the embryonic turtles imprint to either the sandin whichthey are incubated and hatched or to physicalor chemicalcharacteristics of thebeach itself. A chemical imprintingsystem is postulatedunder which ernbyonic turtles sense, imprint on, and retain at leastsome natal impressionsthey receive during the incuba tion period. If thisis so, then those turtles expected toreturn to Padre Island shouldbe exposed tonothing but Padre Island sand. This, then, is our reason for moving Padre Island sand from the U,S, to Mexico and back. It is impossibleto exactlyrecreate the natural conditions under which Rancl'o Nuevo turtles are incubated and hatched,butinsofar asis possible anattempt ismade. After the eggs hatch, the hatchling turtles are transported a short distancetothat portion ofthe Padre Island beach that is closed tovehicular traNc, and there they are released tomake theirway down to the surf. Activity increases anda massexodus tothe surf begins asthe hatchlings arewarined by themorning sun, They orient themselves toward the surf and morning sun and scurry across the beach. Soine observersspeculate thatthese few minutes ofexposure tothe sun, sand, beach and surf are what imprint a turtleto returnto that beach. Perhaps, likesalmon, hatchling turtles chemically imprint on the particular chemical makeup of thesea water at that particular beach. Although neither ofthese possibilities hasbeen quan tihed beyond doubt, there isevidence that turtles hatched and imprinted at Padre Island later showa preference forPadre Island sea water when offered a choicebetween that and sea water from other sources, Eventhough the eggs are placed directly insand from Padre Island, and hatchling turtles are exposed tothe smell or tasteof thatbeach, this does not guarantee that imprinting to thatbeach has thus occurred. There has been speculationthatthe geographical location ofthe developing eggs may be signii'icant, Tinybipole magnets have been discoveredinorganisms asvaried asbacteria andpigeons. Biomagnetic orientation isbelieved tofacilitate homing movementsin pigeons and may act in concert with other environmental factors to provide the homing mechanism inturtles. Ifthis is so, and the magneticbipoles areoriented during embryonic devclopment, itfollows that developing eggsshould be moved to Padre Island as soon as possible after collection inMexico. Because ofseveral factors, this hasnot alwaysbeen done, Afterimprinting on the beach, the young turtles are quickly gathered from the surf and moved to the NMFS SEFC's GalvestonLaboratory. Thisinitiates thefinal phase ofthe head start project inwhich the turtles are reared incaptivity fora numberofmonths toallow them to reach a sizethat significantly reduces their vulnerability topredation after theirrelease. Hatchlings have been either driven by vehicle or flownby aircraft from Padre Island to Galveston, Throughtheyears, the NPS has provided personnel orfunds for nearly every facet ofthe head start project, inaddition tocontracting several scientific studies related tothe project. Excellent press cover ge has been a partof the entire U S. mcubating-hatching-imprintingphase of theKe tional Seashore ',
f Hatching Number of Number ved percent at hatchlings hatchlin co Padre Island imprinted to NMFS
88.1 1@67 85,7 1,754 84,1 2,487' 83,3 1/87 77.6 1559 12.1 235 90.7 1,783 84.1 1,720' 88.3 1,775 64.3 '1,283 91.6 929
77,1 '17,279 ! andDonna Shaver TheNational Marine Fisheries Service's NMFS! Kemp's Ridley SeaTurtle Research andManagement Planwas prepared largelybecause ofa recommendation madebya constifuent reviewpane! ata NMFSseaturf leprogram review inMiami, Florida onMay 3-4,19S4. Fiveplan components relatingtoKemp's ridley Lepidochelys kempi!are performed bythe NMFS Southeast RegionalOffice: InformationandEducation Abroad range ofindependent andconperativeactivi tiesinform andeducate thegeneral public andfisherme ofthe need toconserve Kemp'sridley. These activitiesincludedevelopnrent anddisfribution ofposters, video tapes, brochuresand other means of communication. TEDTechnology Transfer TED isan acronym forTrawling Efficiency Device orTurtle Excluder Device. TheTED was developedprincipally toallow escapement of'seafurtles from shrimp trawls, thereby enhancing conservation ofail 1sea turtles includingKemp's ridley, Useof fhe TED provides benefits toshrimpers suchasreductions oftrash and finfish by-catch. The NMFShasencouraged fhevoluntary useoffhe TED,is continuing tof ransfer TEDtechnology foshrinrpers, andisimplementing TED regulations. IncidentalCatch Incidental catchinformation canbeused formanagement purposesand toincrease conservation through awareness.Amendmenfs tothe Endangered SpeciesAct ESA! alloro reporting ofthe incid entail takeof the endangered Kemp's ridley.Anincidental catchreporting schenrehas been explored withvarious components ofthe shrimpi ngindustry. SeaTurtle Recovery Plan A plan for the recovery ofsix species ofmarine turtles wascompleted inSeptember 1984.This plandefines recovery actions forKemp's ridley. Recovery actions such ashead starting, captive propagation, andat-sea monitoringhave been implemented, Section7 Consultations Sectiori7 ofthe ESA requires thatall federal agencies conserve endangered speciesand consult withthe Fish and Wildlife Service and/orthe NMF S tomake surethat they donot jeopardize fheexisf ence ofany listed species. Secfion7 consultations areused fo mitigate adverse impacts toKemp's ridley. TheNational Marine Fisheries Service's ~! Kemp'sRidley Sea Turtle Rcscarch andManagement Planwas developedinAugust 1984, largely inresponse torecommendations madebya constituent reviewpanel ata NMFS SeaTurtle Program review, This panel ofenvironmentalists, scientists,commercial fishingrepresentatives and administratorsassembled inMiami onMay 3-4, 1984, tolearn ofNMFS'activities regardingsea turtles. Thepanel was askedtocritically review NMFS' programs andrecommend changes.Many recommendations weremade andmany appliedspecifically tothe Kemp's ridley Lepidochelys kempi!.Thereappeared tobe a generalconsensus ofthe panel thatmore emphasis onthis critically endangered specieswas needed. AsfoHnw up,the Southeast Regional Office SERO!andSoutheast Fisheries Center SEFC! ofNMFS developed a plarining document tospecify which ofour activitiesrelated tothe Kemp's ridley. The management partof the plan basically consists offive program elements thatare performed bytwo people inthe Protected Species Branch ofthe SERO inSt, Petersburg, Fla. Inforxnation and Education Inmy view, ini'ormation andeducation activities arehighly valuable inenhancing theconservation ofendangered species.Thepublic cannot beexpected toconserve ifthey are not informed, andsometimes theinformation hasto be prettybasic. Ina conversationwitha shrimper aboutthe TED, I was told that he had caught only one dead sea turtle inhis lifetime. Theturtle apparently waspartially decapitated, sohe removed itshead, and the skull now adorns his retailseafood market, Healso told me that he resuscitates comatosesea turtles that he catches, thenpaints thename ofhis seafood company ontheir backs before releasing them,At sometime inthe past, that shrimper learned thatsea turtlescould be resuscitated andknew that recapture datawere important, However, information anded~-cation effortshadfailed toconvince himthat itwas illegal totake and display a sea turtle skull [Editors' note;except for scientificoreducational purposes under appropriate federaland state perinits, orif it can be proven that the artifact wasobtained prior to listing of the sea turtle as threatened orendangered]. ' ¹fivnal Marine FisheriesService 10 Informa tionand educa tionactivities areimportant, butitis difficult todetermine what approaches touse and how toevaluate theireffectiveness sowe continue witha shotgunapproach aimedat informing thepublic ofthe need toconserve seaturtles and of ways todo this. This approach hasproduced a variety ofindividual andcooperative informationalandeducational materials. TheKemp's ridley video tape, Heartbreak Turtle,sponsored byKUHT oftelevisionspecific, station,in-depthChannel documentaries 8,Houston, ofaTex., specialandconservation the book The effort.Great I Rid!ayhavehad Re..-eve the opportunity Phillips, 1989! ofextendingare fine examplesKUHT's effortAnbyexample providing ofa copies more generalof the video education tape toeffortseveral isa marine SeaTurtle scienceIdentification centers where Poster.it is Thisshown poster to visitors,was developed cooperativelybyNMFS andthe Center forMarine Conservation CMC!.Atleast 15/60 ofthese posters havebeen distributedworMwide, A Spanish versionhasbeenproducedby CMCandis part ofan educationalpacket forteachers inSpanish-speaking countries.Thepacket has been distributed widelyinPuerto Ricoand the Dominican Republic. NMFSpurchased about300 packets tosupplement privatedistribution ef'ortsin Mexico. Threeother educational projectsspecific toKemp's ridley have been completed orare planned. A Kemp's ridley identificationposterwasprinted inJuly 1985 anddistributed. Anotherspecies identification sheetdepicting thefive seaturtle species inour region wasdistributed, Oneofits main purposes wastogather information fromfishermen whocatch ridleys incidentally, A thirdeffort that has notprogressedbeyond theplanning stageisthe joint production ofa brochureaboutKemp's ridley similar toone developed onthe Hawaiian MonkSeal. Thisis proposed bythe NMFS centraloffice in Washington,D.C. TED TechnologyTransfer TEDisan acronym forTrawling Efflciency Deviceor Turtle Excluder Deviceas the case may be.This piece ofgear wasdeveloped principally toexclude seaturtles from shrimp trawls. Because ofits other benefits suchas trash exclusion,reduction offinfish by-catch, andimproved shrimp catch, NMFS encouraged itsvoluntary use,NMFS' TEDtechnology transferactivities haveinvolved publicity, demonstrations, anddistribution ofsample TEDs,The TEDisthe subject ofanother paperbeing presented atthis symposium, soit is not being discussed indetail here. However,NMFS currently isimplementing TEDregulations Department ofCommerce, 1987!. Incidental Catch Incidentalcatchinformation hasseveral uses, Itcan be used toidentify loca tions ofoccurrence ofsea turtles, their sizes,timeperiods ofabundance, andwho in the fishing industry mostoften encounters seaturtles. Itcan alsobcused tostimulate conservation. Inthe case ofthe Kemp's ridley, weknow that shrimpers takethem asdo recreational fishermenusinghook and line gear, both from boats and from shore. I also read somewhere thatthe Kemp's ridley istaken ingill nets. This isall good information thatcan be used toconcentrate effortstoreduce thecatch, especially if thereisassociated mortality. Incidental catch information provides data for researchers andfor other management applicationssuchasSection 7 consultations underthe Endangered SpeciesAct ESA! of1973. Perhaps moreim- portant,Letme it providecan be used anexamplefor conservation ofwhat exercises.I mean, Several years ago, I was meeting withsome Georgia shrimpers concerninga veryhigh frequency ofstrandings ofsea turtles onGeorgia beaches, Theshrimpers didnot deny that theycaught andaccidentally killedsome seaturtles, butthey letme know inno uncertain termsthat they would not beheld responsible forall the dead sea turtles that washed upon beaches. Theyhinted that if someonewereto try imposingburdensome regulations onthem, wemight see twice asmany dead turtles onthe beaches. Someofthose same shrimpers thatwere so adamantly oppose to imposed turtle conservation atthat time cooperatedina seaturtle tagging project with the University ofGeorgia. Theresults oftheir first year ofeffort were summarizedinMarine Turtle Newslet ter No. 34, p. 1-2,1985!. Briefly, coopera tingshrimpers caught, tagged, measured andphotographed 40sea turtles. Ofthese, 31were loggerheads Carettacarlotta! andnine were Kemp's ridley. In additiontothe valuable scienhfic information thisproject provided, itenhanced seaturtle conservation. I believe that onlytwo of these turtles werebroughtup dead,and 1 amsure that this was unintentional. Moreover, the45otherusers ofthis shrimping cooperative's facilities, andtheir fellow shrimpers inGeorgia, were no doubt influenced toconserve seaItturtles wouldby be thisnice effort.if wecould involve every shrimper in the southeast ina similarproject. We cannot, but we have triedto expand this effort to Texas, incooperation withshrimper groups. Amendments tothe ESA made it easier to issuepermits allowing theinadvertent takingof an endangered species,A condition isthe establishment ofa conservationplan.We have explored thepossibility ofestablishing a scaturtle by-catch reporting scheme with shrimpersandsome data collection hasbegun, A conservation planthat would bedeveloped asa permit condition mightinclude measures suchasproper resuscitation, relocationand release ofsea turtles, limits onthe length oftow time,and even the testing-adoption' ofTEDs, Major advantages couldbe realized bythe shrimpers, whowould be 11 protectedfrom an otherwise prohibited act, and for the sea turtles, because a person who has a definiterole in controllingits life or deathwould be involved in its conservation. A Recovery Plan for Marine Turtles A RecceeryPlanfor Marine Turtles Hopkins and Richardson, 1984!that covers sixspecies ofmarine turtles was preparedbya recovery team and approved bythe NMFS Director inSeptember 1984.The plan sets forth those activitiesthatshould betaken byagencies sothat sea turtles canbe restored tolevels where they no longer need protectionunderthe ESA. That isthe textbook description ofwhat a recovery planshould be,In reality, forthe Kemp's ridley,theplan sets forth those actions that should betaken totry to stop the drastic decline ofthis species, Theactions areprioritized andlead agencies defined. Insome cases, oneagency isident i fied and in other cases several. ForNMFS thereare 10 lead actions for the Kemp's ridley: 1. Regulatethepetrochemical industry.NMFS probably doesnot have authority toregulate thepetrochemical industrydirectly, butcan best achieve thisobjective through Section 7 consultations withthe Department of theInterior's Minerals Management Service. 2. Usehatcheries andhead starting. Thisproject isongoing atour NMFS SEFC's Galveston Laboratory. 3. Maintaina totalban oncommercial,recreational andsubsistence take. I can assureyou wehave every intention of continuingto do this. 4. Establishcaptivebreeding colonies,This isanother activity accomplished throughour Galveston Laboratory. Kemp'sridleys captive-reared atthe Galveston Laboratory havebeen distributed toa number ofcooperating organizations,inpart to provide a reservoir ofanimals forcaptive propagation experiments Caillouet, 1984!. 5. Regulatespoil dumping, seafloor mining and trawl tows. NMFS shares this lead with the Environmental Pro- tectionAgency with regard tothe fUst two items, Our answer toregulating trawl tows, asleast thus far, is TED. 6. Maintainandenforce theban on take throughout therange. This issimilar toitem 3,which weare doing in cooperationwith manyother agencies. 7. Regulateshrimping methods, gear,areas, andseasons inU.S, waters. Steps inthis direction arebeing taken throughtheTED technology transferprogram, through theincidentalcatch reportingsystem andthrough TED regulations. 8, Recommendregulations forshrimping methods, area,year, and season inMexican waters. Ourapproach to thisaction iscooperation withMexico inTED technology transfer, 9. Deterniineunknown mortality factors, ifany, and take appropriate action.The Kemp's ridley pathology pro- jectthat was carried outat our Galveston Laboratory hasbeen discontinued. Onereason isthat mortality dur- inghead starting Kemp's ridley was reduced toless than 15percent through iinprovements inrearing methods. 10.Determine feasibility ofaerial and other means ofat-sea monitoring. NMFShas several projects inprogress or planned. Section 7 Consultations Section7 ofthe ESA requires several things offederal agencies. Firstof all, it requires thatall federal agencies "...in consultationwithand with the assistance ofthe Secretary [ofComnierce orInterior], utilize their authorities in furtheranceofthe purposes ofthis act by carrying outprograms forthe conservation ofendangered speciesand threatenedspecies..." Italso requires federal agencies to",ensure thatany action authorized, funded, orcarried out bysuch agency isnot likely tojeopardize thecontinued existence ofany endangered speciesor threatened species..." Section7 istruly a powerfultoolthat can be used forthe conservation andmanagement ofendangered species,and itis used tothe extent practicable inthe NMFS Southeas t Region. Wecomplete about 110 such consultations eachyear. Ourjurisdiction covers five endangered whales, onefish theshortnose sturgeon