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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 37 Number 11
July 2010
Turtle ESA proposal deadline extended; oil spill worries mount
SILVER SPRING, MD – At the request of industry and other stakeholders, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have extended the comment deadline for their joint proposal to elevate the status of loggerhead sea turtles from “threatened” to “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The original comment deadline was June 14. The new deadline is Sept. 13.
Back on March 16, NMFS and FWS, responding to petitions from environmental organizations, proposed creating nine different loggerhead turtle population segments around the world and listing seven of them as endangered, including the Northwest Atlantic Ocean population, which is the one directly impacting US East Coast fishermen (see CFN April 2010 for full details).
The Northwest Atlantic Ocean population currently is listed as “threatened” under the ESA. An uplisting to “endangered” could have significant repercussions for commercial fishing activities.
As a result of its initial call for comments, NMFS said it and FWS received “several requests” to extend the public comment period for an additional 60-120 days. After considering the requests, the two agencies determined that a 90-day extension would “allow adequate time for the public to thoroughly review and thoughtfully comment on the proposed rule.”
Furthermore, the state of Maryland requested a public hearing, which the two federal agencies conducted on June 16 in Berlin, MD.
Send comments
Additional comments on the ESA uplisting proposal now may be submitted through Sept. 13 electronically, by US mail, or by fax as follows.
Send electronic comments through the federal eRulemaking portal at <www.regulations.gov>. Under “select a document type,” click on “proposed rules,” and under “key words” type “loggerhead turtles.” Then follow the prompts.
Mail written comments to: NMFS National Sea Turtle Coordinator, Attn: Loggerhead Proposed Listing Rule, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway Room 13657, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Or
Fax comments to the attention of the NMFS National Sea Turtle Coordinator at (301) 713-0376.
For more information, call NMFS’s Barbara Schroeder at (301) 713-1401 or e-mail her at <barbara.schroeder@noaa.gov>.
Oil impacts
While commercial fishermen – scallopers in particular – have been working for years to reduce interactions with sea turtles, many are now wondering if their extensive efforts to modify gear, alter fishing techniques, and avoid turtle migration paths have been lost to the Deepwater Horizon oil well explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.
Some say the magnitude of this ongoing disaster and its impact on sea turtles may do more long-term harm to turtle populations than any other human or naturally caused activity.
The conservation organization Oceana has been tracking turtle impacts since the spill occurred and reported that 32 oiled sea turtles had been found in the Gulf of Mexico as of June 9. The organization also reported that more than 320 dead or injured turtles had been found since the oil began streaming into the gulf on April 20. Oceana, however, believed the count was higher, saying that more dead turtles may have sunk or been eaten by predators, making them uncountable.
Oceana released a report on June 10 concluding that the Deepwater Horizon event was “extremely dangerous for sea turtles inhabiting the Gulf of Mexico” and said, “Sea turtles can become coated in oil or inhale volatile chemicals when they surface to breathe, swallow oil or contaminated prey, and swim through oil or come in contact with it on nesting beaches.”
“Sea turtles can suffer both internal and external injuries from contact with oil or chemical dispersants,” said Elizabeth Wilson, a marine scientist and fisheries campaign manager at Oceana.
Copies of Oceana’s turtle impact report can be downloaded at <http://na.oceana.org/en/news-media/publications/reports/potential-impacts-of-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-on-sea-turtles>. /cfn/
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