Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) North Indian Ocean DPS, Southwest Indian Ocean DPS, Southeast Indo-Pacific Ocean DPS, South Pacific Ocean DPS, South Atlantic Ocean DPS, Northeast Atlantic Ocean DPS, and Mediterranean Sea DPS 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation 2021 National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources Silver Spring, Maryland and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of International Conservation - IA Falls Church, Virginia 1 Table of Contents 1 GENERAL INFORMATION ............................................................................................... 3 1.1 Reviewers ......................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Background ...................................................................................................................... 4 1.3.1 Federal Register Notice............................................................................................. 4 1.3.2 Listing History .......................................................................................................... 5 1.3.3 Associated rulemakings ............................................................................................ 5 1.3.4 Review History ......................................................................................................... 5 1.3.5 Species’ Recovery Priority Number ......................................................................... 6 1.3.6 Recovery Plan ........................................................................................................... 6 2 REVIEW ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Application of the 1996 Distinct Population Segment (DPS) policy ............................... 6 2.1.1 Is the species under review a vertebrate? .................................................................. 6 2.1.2 Is the species under review listed as a DPS? ............................................................ 6 2.1.3 Was the DPS listed prior to 1996? ............................................................................ 7 2.1.4 Is there relevant new information for this species regarding the application of the DPS policy? ............................................................................................................................. 7 2.2 Recovery Criteria ........................................................................................................... 11 2.2.1 Does the species have a final, approved recovery plan containing objective, measurable criteria? ............................................................................................................... 11 2.3 Updated Information and Current Species Status .......................................................... 11 2.3.1 Updated information applicable to all foreign DPSs .............................................. 11 2.3.2 North Indian Ocean DPS ........................................................................................ 22 2.3.3 Southwest Indian Ocean DPS ................................................................................. 30 2.3.4 Southeast Indo-Pacific Ocean DPS ......................................................................... 38 2.3.5 South Pacific Ocean DPS........................................................................................ 45 2.3.6 South Atlantic Ocean DPS ...................................................................................... 54 2.3.7 Northeast Atlantic Ocean DPS ................................................................................ 63 2.3.8 Mediterranean Sea DPS .......................................................................................... 72 3 RESULTS ............................................................................................................................. 85 3.1 Recommended Classification ......................................................................................... 85 4 RECOMMENDATONS FOR FUTURE ACTIONS ........................................................ 85 5 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................... 86 2 5-YEAR REVIEW Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) North Indian Ocean DPS, Southwest Indian Ocean DPS, Southeast Indo-Pacific Ocean DPS, South Pacific Ocean DPS, South Atlantic Ocean DPS, Northeast Atlantic Ocean DPS, and Mediterranean Sea DPS 1 GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1 Reviewers NMFS Office of Protected Resources: Adrienne Lohe, 301-427-8442 USFWS Division of International Conservation: Earl Possardt, 703-358-2277 1.2 Methodology The purpose of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), is to provide a means to conserve the ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend, to provide a program for the conservation of endangered and threatened species, and to take appropriate steps to recover endangered and threatened species. Under the ESA, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), together “we” or “the Services,” share responsibility to conserve sea turtles as described in the Memorandum of Understanding Defining the Roles of USFWS and NMFS in Joint Administration of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as to Sea Turtles, established in 1977 and revised in 2015. In general, NMFS has jurisdiction for sea turtles in the marine environment, USFWS has jurisdiction for sea turtles in the terrestrial habitat, and the Services commit to working together as necessary to conserve and recover listed sea turtles. One of our responsibilities under the ESA is to conduct a review of each listed species at least every 5 years to determine whether its endangered or threatened status should be changed or removed (i.e., 5- year review, 16 U.S.C. 1533(c)(2)). The ESA requires us to make these determinations solely on the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available (16 U.S.C. 1533(b)(1)(A)). Under the ESA, the definition of species includes any subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants, and any distinct population segment (i.e., DPS) of any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife which interbreeds when mature (16 U.S.C. 1532). In 2011, after a status review of the species (the Status Review; Conant et al. 2009), the Services identified nine loggerhead sea turtle DPSs (76 FR 58868; September 22, 2011), in accordance with the Policy Regarding the Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate Population Segments Under the ESA (i.e., the DPS Policy; 61 FR 4722, February 7, 1996). On December 26, 2019, we initiated this 5-year review for the seven foreign DPSs: the North Indian Ocean DPS, Southwest Indian Ocean DPS, Southeast Indo-Pacific Ocean DPS, South Pacific Ocean DPS, South Atlantic Ocean DPS, Northeast Atlantic Ocean DPS, and Mediterranean Sea DPS (84 FR 70958). To compile the best available scientific and commercial data on the DPSs, we first reviewed the Status Review (Conant et al. 2009), which was based on the best available scientific and commercial data available at that time. We then searched for relevant new information on the foreign DPSs, their biology and habitat, and threats to their continued existence. Specifically, we searched for published literature in NMFS’ scientific literature database, and by using the following scientific search engines: Clarivate's Web of Science, ScienceDirect, BioOne Complete, ProQuest's Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts, JSTOR, EBSCO Academic Search and Environment Complete, and Google Scholar. We solicited relevant information from 3 other Federal agencies, States, Territories, Tribes, foreign governments, academia, nonprofit organizations, industry groups, and individuals by publishing a request in the Federal Register (84 FR 70958; December 26, 2019). Though we did not receive any responses to our Federal Register notice that were specific to the foreign DPSs, we compiled, reviewed, and evaluated available data. We did not conduct new empirical studies because the ESA requires the use of the best available scientific and commercial information. After compiling the data, we reviewed newly available information relevant to the DPS determination, following the DPS Policy. Under this policy, a DPS must be discrete and significant relative to its species. We asked whether the new data supported or refuted our previous determinations of discreteness and significance. Next, we considered the biology and habitat of the DPSs. We identified information that has become available since the publication of the Status Review in 2009. We also reviewed the best available information on abundance and trends, population demographics, genetics, and spatial distribution. We also assessed threats to each DPS by identifying and evaluating the ESA section 4(a)(1) factors (i.e., the five factor analysis; 16 U.S.C. 1533(a)(1)): 1. Present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of habitat or range 2. Overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes 3. Disease or predation 4. Inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms 5. Other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence Because the current abundance and trends are influenced by past threats, we focused