NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-443 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NINETEENTH ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM ON SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGY 2-6 March 1999 South Padre Island, Texas, U.S.A. Compilers: Heather Kalb Thane Wibbels U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Norman Mineta, Secretary NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION D. James Baker, Administrator National Marine Fisheries Service Penelope Dalton, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries September, 2000 Technical Memoranda are used for documentation and timely communication of pre- liminary results, interim reports, or special-purpose information, and have not received complete formal review, editorial control or detailed editing. i 19th Annual Sea Turtle Symposium, 1999 South Padre Island, Texas, USA NOTICE The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) does not approve, recommend or endorse any propri- etary product or material mentioned in this publication. No reference shall be made to NMFS, or to this publication furnished by NMFS, in any advertising or sales promotion which would indicate or imply that NMFS approves, recommends or endorses any proprietary product or material herein or which has as its purpose any intent to cause directly or indirectly the advertised product to be used or purchased because of NMFS publication. For bibliographic purposes, this document should be cited as follows: Kalb, H.J. and T. Wibbels, compilers. 2000. Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. U.S. Dept. Commerce. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-SEFSC-443, 291 p. Technical Editor: W.N. Witzell Copies of this report can be obtained from: National Marine Fisheries Service Miami Laboratory Sea Turtle Program 75 Virginia Beach Drive Miami, FL 33149, U.S.A. or National Technical Information Service 5258 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 Rush orders: (800) 553-6847 or (703) 605-6000 http://www.ntis.gov/ ii PREFACE The 19th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation was the largest to date. The beautiful venue was the South Padre Island Convention Centre on South Padre Island, Texas from March 2-6, 1999. Key features of the 19th were invited talks on the theme The Promise, the Pain, and the Progress of 50 years of Sea Turtle Research and Conservation, a mini-symposium on the Kemp’s ridley and an increased emphasis on high quality poster sessions. Hosts for the meeting included Texas A&M University, the Texas Sea Grant College Program, The Gladys Porter Zoo and Sea Turtle, Inc. Co-sponsors included the National Marine Fisheries Service- Southeast Fisheries Science Center, the National Marine Fisheries Service-Protected Resources Branch, Padre Island National Seashore and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. With the assistance of Jack Frazier, we were fortunate to obtain a $30,000 grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. This grant provided travel support to 49 individuals from 24 nations who presented a total of 50 presentations. WHY TEXAS? Most folks, even most Texans, do not realize that in the late 1800s there were as many as four sea turtle canneries operating along the Texas coast to process meat for local sale and shipment. By 1900 the canneries had all gone out of business, lamenting that the fisheries had not experienced good husbandry techniques! When intensive mechanized shrimping began after World War II there were records in the 1950s of up to 50 turtles being caught on a single cruise out of Port Isabel, TX. Intensive trawling subsequently kept sea turtle populations low — until the 1990s. In the 1990s the situation appeared to be changing, possibly due to TEDs and possibly due to strong long-term conservation measures in Mexico. Now it appears that the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley has a good shot at eventual recovery. It is clear that Texas and indeed the entire northern Gulf of Mexico is developmental and foraging habitat as well as a migratory corridor for ridleys moving to and from the nesting beach at Rancho Nuevo. There are also lots of greens, loggerheads and leatherbacks using the rich feeding grounds off Texas. We were also excited about having the turtle Symposium come to Texas to assist us in getting the word out about sea turtle biology. Over the years the symposium has helped states from North Carolina to Florida as well as Mexico to develop pride in their sea turtle faunas. Hopefully some of the same important educational benefits can also be realized in Texas. Indeed the State of Texas, at least in part due to a resolution generated at the Symposium, has proposed a new protected area off Padre Island National Seashore which would provide critically needed migratory routes for sea turtles moving along the coast. Each year the Sea Turtle symposium is proving to be a critical idea exchange venue assisting us all in our passion for improving the condition of marine turtles, their ocean and their habitats. Putting on such a large meeting is a major undertaking with the requirement for a huge volunteer force. While many others helped, the individuals on the next page put in many extra hours to see that the meeting was a success. David Owens, 1999 Symposium President The compilers would like to thank the following people: Mary Anne Compton and David Owens for many hours of assistance with proofreading and editing; Jeff Seminoff, Amanda Southwood, and Larissa Avens for additional assistance with reviewing and editing; Rhonda Patterson for her constant support and lending hand; and all of the authors who kindly proofed their own abstracts and assisted with the final formatting of their figures. Heather Kalb and Thane Wibbels, 1999 Symposium Proceedings Compilers iii 19th Annual Sea Turtle Symposium, 1999 South Padre Island, Texas, USA COMMITTEES AND CHAIRS Program Chair Thane Wibbels Program Co-chair Heather Kalb Program Committee Kathryn Craven, Derek Green, Emma Hickerson, David Owens, Rhonda Patterson, and Patricia Vargas Scheduling Kathryn Craven Registrar Chris Koeppel Correspondence Jane Provancha, Rhonda Patterson, Heather Kalb, Kathryn Craven, and Chris Koeppel Web Master Kyle Patterson, Rhonda Patterson (assistant) Symposium Logo Tom McFarland Auction Jennifer Homcy, Rod Mast, Richard Byles, and Chris Koeppel Resolutions Pamela Plotkin Local Committee Pat Burchfield, Jaime Peña, Lucia Guillen, Jeff George, Don Hockaday, and Sylvia Soliz Thing Committee Jack Frazier, Rhonda Patterson, Nick Pilcher, David Owens, Joel Palma Volunteer Chairs Cynthia Rubio, Sam Sadove Public Relations Sylvia Soliz Travel Committee Wallace J. Nichols (Chair), Marydele Donnelly, Brendan Godley, Annette Broderick, andAlan Bolten (U.S./Canada) Vendor Arrangements Tom McFarland Nominations Frank Paladino (chair), Laura Sarti, Jeff Seminoff, Jennifer Homcy, and Ed Standora EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE David Owens President Blair Witherington President Elect F. Alberto Abreu-Grobois Past President Edwin B. Drane Treasurer Jane Provancha Secretary BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jeanette Wyneken Past President, 17th Jack Frazier until 2000 Richard Byles Past President, 16th Tom McFarland until 2000 Jack Musick Past President, 15th Colin Limpus until 2001 Barbara Schroeder Past President, 14th Joca Thomé until 2001 Sally Murphy Past President, 13th Karen Eckert until 2002 Jim Richardson Past President, 12th Brendan Godle until 2002 Debbie Crouse until 1999 Pamela Plotkin Jim Spotila until 1999 Stephen Morreale iv STUDENT AWARDS There were 52 student presentations – 10 papers and 42 posters with $2250 awarded to 7 recipients. The Awards Committee was composed of Anders G.J. Rhodin (Chair), Ana R. Barragán, Raquel Briseño-Dueñas, Stephen J. Morreale, Frank V. Paladino, James I. Richardson, Michael Salmon, Jeffrey A. Seminoff, Jeanette Wyneken. The awards were financed by the Chelonian Research Foundation. Paper Presentations 1. Michael C. James. Distribution and conservation of the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coria- cea) in Atlantic Canada: research partnerships with the fishing community. (North Atlantic Leather- back Turtle Working Group, Biology Dept., Acadia University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada). $500. 2. Wallace J. Nichols, P. Dutton, J.A. Seminoff, E. Bixby, F.A. Abreu-Grobois, and A.R.S. Hidalgo. Poi or papas? Do Hawaiian and Mexican green turtles feed together in Baja California water. (Wildlife and Fisheries Science, School of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ari- zona, USA). $250. 2. Sandra Storch, Z.M. Hillis-Starr, and R.P. Wilson. Turtles in the reef: a closer look at the activities of hawksbill turtles in a Caribbean internesting habitat. (Abteilung Meereszoologie, Institut für Meereskunde, Germany). $250. Poster Presentations 1. Sadie S. Curry, D.R. Brown, E.R. Jacobson, and P.A. Klein. Persistent infectivity of chelonian herpes viruses after exposure to artificial seawater. (Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA). $500. 2. Melissa L. Snover, A.A. Hohn, and S.A. Macko. Detecting the precise time at settlement from pelagic to benthic habitats in the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta. (Duke University Marine Laboratory, North Carolina, USA). $250. 2. Jeffrey R. Schmid. Characterizing developmental habitats and habitat utilization of Kemp’s ridley turtles using GIS. (Center for Sea Turtle Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA). $250. 2. Larisa Avens. Possible homing behavior in juvenile loggerheads (Caretta caretta) from Core Sound, North Carolina. (Biology Dept., University of North Carolina, Chapel